The Pirate and The Fox
by RandomWriter102934
Summary: Naruto joins Luffy on his adventure to become the Pirate King. Serious Naruto. Cover Image by xxMeMoRiEzxx A continuation of 'The Pirate and The Fox' by RandomWriter10293. By the way, I am RandomWriter10293, I just forgot the email for the account (I explain it all in the story).
1. Author's Note

**Before I start at all I am RandomWriter10293, the guy who wrote 'The Pirate and The Fox'. I just want to make sure that everyone reading this knows this. I am not someone who just decided out of no where to pick up this story, I am the same person. You may be wondering why I'm not on the original account. And the simple answer is that I forgot which email I used to make that account. Sorry about that, I have a lot of emails. But just making sure everyone knows that I am the same person.**

 **Now, onto the story of why I have taken this massive break from fanfiction, nearly 2 years. Basically I just got over it for a while. I just lost all interest in it and didn't care at all for any of the stories. What happened though was I was in class one day and I suddenly remembered all about fanfiction and how I had created this story, I eventually found the story and read over it again and I felt really bad for stopping when there was so much more to be explained.**

 **I am very sorry for the break, it was all down to me and no one else. But just letting you all know that I will be continuing the story of 'The Pirate and The Fox'. Before you start reading here I highly recommend that you go back and read the original story. The link is: s/10520224/1/The-Pirate-and-The-Fox**

 **But now onto the actual story itself. I understand that I said that there would be a Naruto/Nami pairing. But I'm not doing it. For one the age gap is massive and I just don't want to write about it. However, since I've already started something in the previous chapters I'm gonna find a way to make them not a pairing but make sure that they both know the feelings they have for each other.**

 **It usually takes a month for each chapter to up because I like to do each arc in one chapter. Of course that is going to be hard once we start getting into the later chapters so I might split up each arc among two or three chapters as the story goes on.**

 **Before we begin I would just like to say sorry for anyone who really enjoyed the story that I created and felt let down when I didn't update. From the bottom of my heart I am truly sorry.**

 **But enough about all of that, the good news is is that it's coming back! So I hope that you all enjoy 'The Pirate and The Fox!'**


	2. Arlong Park

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece or any of the characters, all rights go to Eiichiro Oda**

The weather was nice and clear with the steady waves crashing over the small boat which held Sanji, Luffy, Naruto and Yosaku. They were in search of their navigator who had supposedly backstabbed them. Yosaku was crying to himself silently in one of the corners of the boat.

"How long do you intend on crying?" Naruto asked in a lazy tone.

"Yeah! Cheer up already!" Luffy agreed.

"B-but I'm so touched!" Yosaku explained, "It was truly a beautiful good-bye Brother Cook!"

"You are keeping a check on our boat's direction, right?" asked Sanji.

"Ahh! I wanna bring back Nami so we can go to the Grand Line already!" Luffy exclaimed with vigour.

"You're awfully happy. But even with Nami, don't you still only have six people?" asked Yosaku, still crying, "Are you seriously planning to go to the Grand Line with only six people? You'll regret it if you underestimate the seas, you hear!?"

"If it's more crewmembers I need, I can do that in the Grand Line too!" proclaimed Luffy, "After all, it's supposed to be a paradise!"

"Paradise? Don't you mean a pirate's graveyard?" asked Sanji.

"Before I left the restaurant, Owner Zeff told me that some people call the Grand Line a paradise!" Luffy beamed with excitement.

"That geezer said that?" Sanji asked, "Well, as long as Nami will be there, I won't mind even if it's just the two of us alone…"

"I swear you need to start thinking with your head instead of thinking with your dick." Naruto joked.

"You're all being much too naive!" shouted Yosaku, "You really know too little about the Grand Line! Not to mention our destination as well! If Brother Zoro had some basic knowledge, then he'd have come back along with me! And he definitely would've realised just how terrifying the man at the place Sister Nami went to is!"

"So, should we eat?" Luffy asked, disregarding what Yosaku had just warned them about.

"Hell yeah!" Sanji stated, keen to start cooking.

"This is exactly what I'm talking about!" Yosaku yelled.

"Oi, Yosaku." Naruto got his attention.

"What!?" Yosaku was still angered that the others weren't taking the danger seriously enough.

"I'll tell you what I said back at the Baratie," Naruto started, "there is no one else in the East Blue that is as strong as us. I'm not being arrogant , I'm being honest. And our captain, Luffy, is the strongest out of all of us. We just defeated Don Krieg and before this we beat two of the East Blue's most deadly pirates. We can take whoever you're talking about."

"Well, okay…" Yosaku seemed to have calmed down, "but there is still something about the place we're going to that you have to know about!"

"Fire away." Naruto affirmed.

"The reason why the Grand Line is called the 'Pirate's Graveyard,' is because of the three great powers that rule over it," Yosaku began, "and one of them is the Shichibukai."

"Shichibukai?" asked Luffy, who had become interested.

"Simply put, they're seven pirates that are officially authorised by the world government." Yosaku explained.

"What?" questioned Sanji, "Why would the government permit pirates?"

"As long as the Shichibukai give a portion of their loot, obtained from pillaging uncivilised lands to the world government, their pirating activities are officially sanctioned," Yosaku carried on, "other pirates might look down on them by calling them 'government dogs' or whatnot, but they're extremely strong! In fact, the Hawk-Eyed Mihawk who defeated Brother Zoro, is one of them!"

"Woah! There's seven of these guys!? Those Shichibukai guys are amazing!" Luffy shouted, amazed. Sanji and Naruto stayed silent as they took in what Yosaku had to say.

"The problem is with another one of the Shichibukai. The leader of the 'Fishmen Pirates', Jinbe!" Yosaku stated, eerily.

"Fishman? Never met one before!" Luffy replied.

"Fishmen, huh?" Sanji began imagining, "Isn't Fishman Island a very famous travel destination in the Grand Line? I've heard that the most beautiful mermaids are there."

"In return for joining the Shichibukai, Jinbe let a terrifying monster loose in the East Blue." Yosaku said as he looked towards the ground.

"Like this?" Luffy asked as he held up a poorly drawn picture of a fish with legs.

"That's one ugly fish, haha!" Sanji laughed at Luffy's drawing skills.

"Is it physically impossible for you to pay attention!?" Yosaku yelled, "Whatever, I'll skip the complicated history lecture for now. The place we're headed to is 'Arlong Park!' It's an area ruled by Arlong, a fishman pirate that once fought alongside Jinbe, a member of the Shichibukai! In terms of individual strength, he's far stronger than even Don Krieg!"

"But… you came back to the Baratie before catching up with her, right?" Sanji questioned, "So how do you know for sure where Nami was headed to? Isn't it possible that her destination happened to be in that same direction?"

"Me and Johnny have a strong feeling about this, based on what happened earlier on…" Yosaku recounted, "Sister Nami was definitely staring intently at Arlong's wanted poster. And right after we said Arlong's crew was wreaking havoc again recently she took off with the treasure. This is too much to be a coincidence, I'm sure there's some conne-"

"How about this?" Before Yosaku could finish his sentence, Luffy showed another poorly drawn picture a fish with legs but this time standing up.

"All you did was draw your previous fish standing upright," Sanji criticised, "but I wonder just what Nami has to do with those fishmen? Could it be that she's a mermaid? That would explain her beauty…"

"Like this?" Luffy showed the picture once more but had drawn hair onto it and labelled it 'Nami.'

"You're dead meat!" Sanji shouted.

"Do you understand what I'm trying to say here!?" Yosaku screamed.

"Yeah, there's a strong fishman dude, got it." Luffy replied calmly.

"No, you don't! You can't imagine just how powerful he is!" Yosaku retorted.

"Well, I'll see when we get there." Luffy stated confidently.

"Yeah, that's right. Don't sweat it." Sanji agreed.

"God, talking to you two is just useless!" Yosaku whined.

' _The Shichibukai,'_ thought Naruto, ' _I knew that Mihawk was strong, but to be able to disperse my Rasegnan as if it was nothing at all... he was able to take down Zoro with an eating knife as well. If there are going to be people like him in the Grand Line I really need to start training harder. And what did he mean when he said that there was someone else in the world with the ability to do what I do? And what did he mean when he said I should become more creative with my abilities.'_ Naruto was broken from his deep thought when he heard Sanji say:

"In any case, let's eat," which erupted a large roar from the pirate captain and the bounty hunter, "what do you want?"

"Meat on a bone!" Luffy commanded.

"Stir-fired bean sprouts!" Yosaku yelled.

"Ramen." Naruto requested simply. Sanji raised an eyebrow.

"Just ramen? I can cook you something better." Sanji informed.

"No, ramen is fine." Naruto replied as he took up his position lying by the side of the boat with his hands behind his head with both eyes closed.

"Your choice." Sanji said as he walked into the very small dining area of the boat they were in.

"Ahh, sure is nice having a cook around." Luffy sighed greatfully.

"I wish I could hurry up and cook for Nami instead of you doofuses." Sanji stated through a small window.

"Stir-fried! Bean sprouts! Big helping!" Yosaku reminded.

Northwest Region of the East Blue

The ominous structure known as 'Arlong Park' stood tall. The building, boasting several stories, placed conspicuously at the coast, showing that they had no fear of the law. On top of the structure their Jolly Roger flew, showing the people of the island that they had only one ruler, Arlong.

"Here's the pay for this month, take it." A large, muscular, light blue saw-shark fishman gave a wad of money over to a marine. The fishman had long, black hair with a widow's peak reaching down to his shoulders, under a brown ushanka. He had a fin on his nape, surrounded by his hair, and gills located on both the sides of his neck. A tattoo of a sun with flames around it was embedded onto the left side of his chest, while the Jolly Roger of the Arlong Pirates was on his lower left arm. He wore a short-sleeved, unbuttoned yellow shirt decorated by many black lightning-like spot and brown bermuda shorts with a purple sash around the waist and simple sandals. He also sported a lot of jewels, a golden chain bracelet around his left wrist and two golden bracelet around each ankle, with straw-like decorations hanging from them. On several fingers there are rings, decorated by colourful gems. This man was the captain of the Arlong Pirates, Arlong.

"As always, thank you very much," the marine officer took the money. The officer looked very much like a rat. He had whiskers, and rat ears attached to his marine cap, he had brown hair and similarly brown eyes. He wore a greyish-blue button up coat that went down to his feet, with a black belt and blue shoulder pads, "chi chi chi chi... you sure do know how to get by in this world..."

"Shahahaha! What're you being so reserved for now Nezumi!?" Arlong laughed heavily, "As they say, money makes the world go round! Money's good! There's nothing more reliable than money! Ain't that right?"

"Certainly." Nezumi agreed.

"Shahahaha! I despise humans but men and women like you who get how this world works are a different matter." Arlong stated.

"Well if business is over, I'll have to get going now," Nezumi raised from his chair, "it'd be bad to have my ship docked in a place like this in the middle of it's patrol."

"You're always in a hurry aren't you," Arlong spoke, "you should stay awhile and drink with me every now and then! Live a little! If anyone rats you out to headquarters, I'll kill him for ya."

"No, it's fine," Nezumi walked away from the chair, "excuse me then."

"Hey, the captain's on his way back! Escort him out to his ship!" ordered Arlong.

"Yes sir!" A voice yelled as a splash in the water could be seen as another fishman raised himself from the sea. He was an octopus fishman, having six arms and two legs and an octopus-like face. His skin was pink and had grey hair styled with fixe spikes. He had a muscular build and had suction cups on each of his six arms. He had a tattoo in the shape of a sun on his forehead, "Get on the octopus pot, I'll give you a lift!"

"Yes... thank you Hatchan." Nezumi accepted the offer.

"You sure do have a funny-looking face," Hatchan began laughing, "I mean seriously, your face alone is enough of a joke already! Ahahaha!"

"Hachi! Watch that mouth of yours! The captain is our valued client." scolded Arlong.

"Oh, right sorry 'bout that. Well, get on then!" Hatchan, otherwise known as Hachi, said as he jumped in the water and attached the octopus pot to his back.

"My bad, captain! That one's got a mouth on him!" Arlong grinned.

"N-no... it's fine, chi chi chi." Nezumi nervously laughed as he hopped in the pot and was taken away from the park by Hachi, ' _These fishmen give me the creeps,'_ he thought, ' _but their money's good.'_

Outside the east gates to Arlong Park, Nami was walking along the path towards the entrance before she was confronted by a small boy, with brown hair and round eyes. He wore a green beanie and an orange jacket.

"Hey, you! Stop right there!" yelled the boy, "I'm going to kill Arlong! He killed my dad! So if you don't get outta my way, I'll kill you too! I'm serious!" The boy had tears rolling down his face. Nami just stood there unfazed before she revealed her staff and smacked him with it. The boy was sent to the ground.

"Arlong doesn't have the time to waste on little brats like you!" Nami told him as she continually beat down the child, blood dripping from his mouth, "So if you understand, go home. Here's a little money, use it for your own protection." She dropped a small wad of cash.

"Dammit." The crying boy grunted. Nami looked over the boy once more before she entered the gates of Arlong Park. She was greeted by the fishman.

"Ohh! So you're back, that was quite a long trip!" Arlong exclaimed.

"This mansion is as lax as always." Nami said deadpanned.

"Ha... as if anyone would knowingly dare to raid my estate," Arlong smirked, "how much did you rake in this time?"

"Quite a lot!" Nami stated proudly, "But it was strangely quite heartbreaking this time."

"Shahahaha! Since when did you get so sentimental!?" Arlong laughed, "Betraying people is your speciality, isn't it!?"

"Oh, is that so?" Nami responded.

"My fishman brothers our comrade has returned! Let us prepare a feast!" announced Arlong. Immediately loads more fishmen rose from the water celebrating.

"Woohoo!"

"Hell yeah!"

"Nami's back!"

There was something special this time about the clothes that Nami wore. Previously she would never wear singlets or sleeveless clothes. However, this time she was, and in doing so she was brandishing a tattoo of the Jolly Roger of the Arlong Pirates, showing where her allegiance lied.

Meanwhile, outside of Arlong Park on the cove the boat containing Johnny, Zoro and Usopp sailed past. The building gave off an ominous feeling.

"W...w-we're here!" Johnny shivered.

"A-a-are you sure Nami's really in there?" Usopp asked hiding behind the edge of the boat as Zoro looked at it without saying a word. Johnny and Usopp had bandaged him up from his defeat to Mihawk.

"We've finally arrived but the real problem is from here," Johnny pointed out, "first, let's try to ind where Nami docked the ship."

"And then cut our way in?" Zoro asked as he unsheated his sword.

"As if!" Johnny and Usopp yelled, "Are you an idiot!? We don't have the slightest clue as to what's going on yet!"

"Well then what are we going to do?" Zoro.

"I'll go look with the binoculars." Usopp informed. He grabbed them and climbed onto the top of the small dining area so that he could get a better view.

"Have you found anything yet?" Johnny asked.

"Hold on," Usopp told him as he continued to scan the area, "There it is! I found the Going Merry! She docked it over there!"

"Hmm, that certainly is a rather strange place to dock the ship," Johnny pointed out, "it's a little off from the 'Cocoyashi Village' marked on this map." He started showing the map to Usopp.

"Hey Usopp." Zoro got his attention.

"Yeah?" Usopp responded.

"Since we're close to shore don't you reckon you should untie me?" Zoro asked.

"No, no, it's quite alright." Usopp replied, making shushing gestures as he walked back over to Johnny.

"W-what!? Untie me now!" Zoro demanded, attempting to get back Usopp's attention, "I said untie me!"

"That's enough," Usopp tapped Zoro on the chest, inadvertently hurting him in the process, "look at yourself, you're about to faint just from yelling! You were an inch away from death, remember? Just leave it to me! I'll bring that girl back!"

"Aren't you suddenly cheerful now that you know we're not going to Arlong Park." Johnny muttered.

"Starboard to the Going Merry!" Usopp commanded as if he was captain, "Bring me up right next to her!"

"Aye-aye." Johnny obeyed.

"Alright! The adventure about to unfold as I bravely step foot on these virgin lands," Usopp began, "will hereby be known as 'The Warrior Usopp's Great Adventure!" Fitting title, eh Johnny boy?"

"Aye-aye." Johnny stated. They were sailing smoothly to the dock until they both spotted three figures out of the corner of their eyes standing on the platform near the dock. They were fishmen.

' _Fishmen...!'_ both Usopp and Johnny thought.

"Full spead ahead." Usopp ordered.

"Aye-aye." Johnny obeyed again except this time a bit quicker with his actions. They continued on their course for the Going Merry, until they eventually sailed right past it.

"The hell are you just passing by for!?" Zoro asked.

"Sshhh!" Usopp and Johnny quietened the tied up swordsman.

"Didn't you see them!?" Usopp questioned, "They were fishmen! The Arlong Pirates for crying out loud! I'm freakin' scared out of my wits, you got a problem with that!? Do ya, punk!?"

"The one who should be mad is me." Zoro told him, still angry about not being untied.

"It's no good..." Johnny said to himself, "This entire region seems to be under Arlong's control. What should we do brother Usopp?"

"Well, now that we know we can't bring Nami back..." Usopp began wondering.

"Just hurry up and untie me, you idiots!" Zoro shouted.

"Hmm, that's an unfamiiar ship!" The crew heard voices yell from the water. Usopp turned to see the fishmen swimming at full speed towards the ship.

"Gahh! Abandon ship!" Usopp yelled as he jumped overboard.

"Aye-aye!" Johnny yelled as he followed the long-nosed pirate, forgetting Zoro.

"Hey! Wait a sec!" Zoro yelled, "At least untie me before you run away!"

"Heh heh, looks like I caught up to ya," The fishmen started to say, "huh, there's only one guy on-board? Were ya exiled or something?" The fishmen began to question.

"Yeah... sort of..." Zoro replied, ' _I swear I'll kill them for this!_ ' he began thinking.

"I see, then those must be torture wounds?" Another fishmen asked, pointing out his bandages, "Well, let's take him to Arlong for the time being." Usopp and Johnny watched from afar as they saw the boat being taken away to the park.

"Forgive us, Zoro. I shall pass along word of your gallant bravery to Luffy." Usopp said with his hand across his chest.

"Such an unfortunate person... I'll never forget you, bro!" Johnny cried into his arm. They stayed there for a few moments.

"Well, that's enough of that. Let's go on shore." Usopp told him.

"Sure," Johnny answered. When they got onto the shore they gawked at the ruins of the village in front of them. It was completely decimated and destroyed, "just what exactly happened to this town!?"

"T-this is probably 'Gosa Village'," Usopp explained, "the village that Arlong supposedly destroyed a couple weeks ago." As the duo continued their exploration of the destroyed village they came across a very unusual sight. All the houses had been flipped upside down and there were many strange marks on the ground.

"What a sight," Johnny gasped, "all the houses have been thrown upside down. I've heard that from the moment they're born fishmen are ten times stronger than humans! This is the strength of those from the Grand Line, and what happens to the towns that oppose Arlong." They continued to stare at the ruins before Johnny started to sprint away.

"Hm? What's wrong?" Usopp asked.

"Almost let'cha get away," A strong, husky voice stated from behind him, "you must be that exiled human's partner!" Usopp looked behind him to see a large fishman looking down on him.

"Gyaaaaaaa!" Usopp cried in fear as he attempted to flee the fishman.

"Wait!" The fishman shouted as he started chasing the sniper. While this was happening Johnny had hidden himself behind one of the houses.

"Talk about a close call," He sighed, "may you be safe, Brother Usopp! I shall wait here for Yosaku and Brother Luffy."

"Puhahahaha!" Usopp laughed as he continued to run away from the fishmen, "You think you can catch up to me!? I'm a master when it comes to running! Catch me if you can!" He looked back and didn't seem to notice the young boy that had stepped out in front of him.

"I found you fishman," the young boy said, "I'll avenge my dad's death!" Before Usopp could face forwards he got tripped over by the young boy.

"Wha!?" Usopp cried as he fell to the ground.

"Die, you rotten fishman!" The boy yelled as he swung his knife down.

"Don't harm the fishmen!" Yelled a feminine voice as a hand struck the boy on the head.

"Ah!?" The boy cried.

"Look closely, he might look a little like Arlong, but he's a human, just barely though," The woman pointed out. She was an average-sized young woman with light blue hair and tanned skin. Her right arm and chest were heavily tattooed. She wore a bracelet on her right wrist along with a beige sleeveless shirt, blue trousers and purple sandals.

"Barely!?" Usopp shouted in disapproval.

"Wait right there!" The fishman shouted as he ran towards Usopp.

"He's here!" Usopp alerted the others.

"It's a fishman!" The young boy shouted.

"It's a real one this time..." The young woman murmured to herself.

"Stand back!" Usopp told them as he stood in front of them with his slingshot in his hand, "I can't run away, leaving behind a defenceless woman and child! If it's just one fishman, I'm sure I can manage somehow."

"You there, suspicious human," The fishman bellowed, "finally gave up, did ya now?"

"It's the opposite," Usopp growled as he pulled back on his slingshot, "I've resolved to take you on! Eat this! **Certain kill** -" Before he could launch his attack everything went black as the woman struck him over the head with a mallet.

"I told you, don't harm the fishmen!" She announced.

"Ahhh..." Usopp groaned as he lost consciousness.

Outskirts of Cocoyashi Village, One Hour Later

"Ahhh!" Usopp woke to find himself on the floor of a small house with a blanket covering him.

"So you woke up?" The woman noticed, sitting on a chair near a table with the young boy sitting opposite her, "You're in my home."

"You're that woman from earlier... who're you!?" Usopp questioned, "And what about that fishman!?"

"Don't worry we lost him," The woman assured, "My name's Nojiko and he's Chabo. I grow tangerines here."

"Wait a sec, you're the one who knocked me out!" Usopp realised, "Are you the fishmen's lackey!? Hmph, and after I was going to save you too!"

"The one who did the saving was me! This is why outsiders are so much trouble," Nojiko stated, "but you're from Gosa Village, right?" She asked Chabo, "If so, then you should understand that attacking the fishmen will only get you killed. You of all people should be more than well aware."

"I know that!" Chabo said frightened, "But they killed my dad! I won't forgive them even if I die! They brought along that huge monster I've never even seen before and... pillaged and destroyed my entire town! They killed so many people! That's why I've sworn revenge!"

"A huge monster?" Usopp wondered, "So all those strange dents on the ground all over the village were..."

"Those are the tracks left behind by that thing! It's unimaginably huge!" The young boy fought back the tears, "They said they brought it over from the Grand Line."

"There're monsters there too!?" Usopp's jaw dropped.

"I-I even went to Arlong Park!" Chabo told them, "But some female member of the Arlong Pirates stopped me at the door! She was like a real witch! How dare she get in my way! I wanna kill her too!"

"Then go ahead and die," Nojiko told him deadpanned, "as long as you know you're going to end up dead, then feel free to fight! Some excellent revenge that is! But let me just say this one thing. Thanks to me and that witch lady at Arlong Park interfering, you've narrowly escaped death twice. Get out of my house once you're done with that tea. I hate naive little brats like you." Chabo continued to try and fight back the tears.

"Hey! He's just a little kid! Isn't that going a bit too far!?" Usopp fought back.

"So what if he's just a kid!?" Nojiko argued, "Anybody who wants to die a dog's death can go ahead and die for all I care! It's not like they have any desire to live on anyways!"

"What!?" Usopp yelled angrily.

"I know of a certain child who chose to live a painful life far worse than death," Nojiko recounted, "because she looks forward to a better future! That's why I absolutely loathe brats like him, who only think about rushing to their deaths!"

"Uuu..." Chabo started to let his tears roll down his cheeks freely, "What...what am I supposed to do then? It's so frustrating!"

"What about your mom?" Nojiko asked.

"She's still alive." Chabo answered.

"Then she must be worried," Nojiko told the crying child, "so why don't you go home to your mom?" Chabo nodded as he left the house, wiping his tears, and started walking down the gravel road to his mother's house.

"You're actually a pretty good person," Usopp told Nojiko, "even though you do have a tattoo."

"Well isn't that prejudiced of you? Though I can't say I know much about you." Nojiko said as she started drinking some coffee.

"Ah that's right," Usopp remembered, "my name's Captain Usopp. I came here looking for Nami but-"

"How do you know Nami?" asked the blue haired woman.

"She was my crewmate!" Usopp answered.

"You know she's working for Arlong?" Nojiko asked.

"What!?" Usopp shrieked, "Nami's a member of the Arlong Pirates!?"

"Yup," Nojiko confirmed, "she's pretty infamous around these parts. Even that kid talked about her earlier, remember? She's the witch-woman he talked about. More surprising would be the fact that this is the house she grew up in. That witch and I are foster sisters."

"What!?" Usopp spurted out the coffee he was drinking, "This is Nami's home!?"

"That's right, she and I are orphans." Nojiko confirmed, "we were adopted and raised in this house. The one who raised us has long been dead now but the three of us used to live here happily in Cocoyashi Village."

"This village?" Usopp asked, "Then why did she join the Arlong Pirates who now rule over this very same village? Did she betray her own hometown!?"

"Well, something like that," Nojiko replied, "a real witch, right? So? What's your business with that witch? Captain Usopp?"

"Well, after what you just said, I've got more important things to think about," Usopp folded his arms, "so then... she's been deceiving us all along. She must've only been aiming for the treasure right from the beginning! When I think about that it pisses me off so damn much! That girl! Even though she helped protect my village and laughed so happily when sailing together with us! Inside her mind, she was always planning on how to steal our money and ditch us!"

"Laughing happily?" Nojiko smiled, "Her?"

"Why that evil witch!" Usopp shouted angrily, "A person like her deserves an attack of the spiritual order! I'll completely ignore her from now on!"

"I told you already, don't start any trouble with the Arlong Pirates." Nojiko reminded him.

"Well, as long as I can get back my ship, it's all fine," Usopp told her, "and since I've found the ship already, I guess I should hurry up and leave."

"Well, that would be the wise thing to do," Nojiko nodded, "mess with the Arlong Pirates and it won't end with mere injuries. By the way, is that the ship you were talking about?" She pointed her thumb out the window, and to Usopp's surprise there stood the Going Merry out on the water.

"Ahh! The Going Merry!" cried Usopp, " What is it doing over there!? Wait a minute, that means... alright, I've grasped the basic geography of this area. I do remember there being a village to the west of here. That must be the Cocoyashi Village centre. That's where I saw those fishmen." Usopp's face turned into a very afraid one.

"What's wrong?" Nojiko asked.

"I forgot that one of my crewmates got himeslf unfortunately caught by the fishmen," Usopp retold, "and he was already on the verge of death. I just hope he didn't provoke them and get himself killed."

Arlong Park

"I told you already, I came here looking for a woman! You half-fish mutant!" Zoro angrily told Arlong, still tied up, as he sat down in front of the water while Arlong sat on his chair.

"Oh? An inferior human dares slight me?" Arlong grinned, "I'll forgive you just this once but don't ever call use half-fish again! We fishmen are 'evolved humans' who have gained the ability to breathe in the sea. With our abilities, we're beings of a higher order than you puny humans! Our innate strength which far exceeds that of humans is very proof of that! In short we are 'lords of creation!' Get that through your dense head! And so a human who defies a fishman is essentially defying the 'divine providence of nature!'

"I'm sick of hearing you blab on about that stupid pet theory of yours," Nami said as she walked out of the building, "Arlong."

"Nami!" Zoro yelled.

"No need to make such a scary face Nami!" Arlong responded, "You're a different case, of course! You're the Arlong Pirate's prized 'cartographer.' You make the most accurate nautical charts."

"Of course! My brain's of a much 'higher order' than any of yours." Nami stated sarcastically.

"Cartographer? Hey Nami!" Zoro got her attention, "Why the hell are you so chummy with these guys for!?"

"What, are you two acquaintances?" Arlong questioned.

"Don't be silly," Nami waved her hand at the fishman, "he's just one of my victims. I was able to swindle a huge fortune from these guys during my recent haul," Nami knelt in front of Zoro, "I knew you guys were chasing after me to a certain point, but to think you'd actually make it here."

"Is this your true self?" Zoro asked angrily.

"That's right," Nami grinned, "surprised? I'm an officer of the Arlong Pirates. I was already a pirate when we met."

"Shahahaha! She had you completely strung along!" Arlong laughed, "This girl right here would do anything for the sake of money. Even forget the death of her own parent! Shes a real cold-blooded witch!" At that point Nami bit her bottom lip and her eyes widened, Zoro picked that up, "Tricking people to swindle them is like her second nature! Moreover, she;s got us as her backup!"

"I see..." Zoro started, "well, it's not like I really trusted her anyways. Wouldn't surprised me even if she turned out to be a devilish cutthroat. Right from the very beginning, I had a feeling you were a good-for-nothing woman. Heh heh."

"Hmph, well then that makes things easier," Nami stood up, "If you've realised that I was only tricking you, then can you just give up on your treasure and my navigation skills and disappear already? You're an eyesore!"

"If you insist!" Zoro yelled as he jumped backwards into the pool of water behind him which led out to the ocean, with his wrists and legs still tied up.

"Huh!" Nami gasped.

"W-what!?" The fishmen began talking.

"What happened!? Why'd he suddenly jump back like that!?"

"Did he fall over laughing?"

"No, I don't think anybody said something funny."

"Maybe he's trying to escape!"

"No way! As if a human with his hands and legs tied could ever swim."

"Then maybe it was suicide?"

"Just leave him be!" Arlong demanded.

"That idiot..." Nami told herself as she kicked off her shoes and jumped into the water.

"Nami!?" The fishmen cried. There was a moment of silence before Nami came up carrying Zoro on her shoudler, "Ah... they're back up. Hey, what's the meaning of this Nami!?" The two of them were panting heavily.

"What's the big idea?" Nami questioned angrily as Zoro started coughing.

"I should ask you the same thing," The swordsman replied in between coughs, "a small-time crook like who you can't even let one person die shouldn't be acting all tough! And be quicker next time, slowpoke. Almost thought I was a goner."

"Don't you get cheeky with me!" Nami screamed as she started kicking Zoro in the back.

"Ugh!' Zoro groaned.

"If you get involved with me anymore than this you're a dead man!" Nami held Zoro by his neck.

"I wonder..." Zoro smirked.

"Some bandages you've got there." Nami pointed out looking at the bandages from Mihawk's sword.

"I just didn't have any change of clothes," Zoro continued to smirk confidently, "that's all!" Nami proceeded to punch Zoro's wounds. Nami let go of the fallen swordsman as she walked back over to Arlong.

"Hey Nami, what're you gonna do with him?" Arlong asked.

"Lock him up for now! I'll put an end to him later." Nami told her boss.

"Arlong!" The same fishman that chased after Usopp entered the park.

"What is it, my fellow brother?" Arlong asked.

"There was a long-nosed human who got away!" The fishman informed, "I think he's probably hiding in Cocoyashi Village somwhere."

' _Usopp? Damn, so they found out about him after all._ ' thought Zoro. He looked towards Nami and she started to sweat, possibly from the news of Usopp being found or from carrying Zoro out of the water.

"Cocoyashi Village? It just so happened that I had some business to attend to there." Arlong grinned evily.

Cocoyashi Village

"Hey! Arlong's coming this way!" one of the villagers announced, which caused the entire village to begin panicking and fearing the worst.

"What does he need from us?"

"He just collected our tribute!"

"It's probably because my weapons were found," stated a man from a seat under a palm tree. He wore a pinwheel on his hat. He had numerous scars all along his body. He wore a police uniform with short sleeves and pants, "everyone go inside your homes."

"Genzo..." one of the villagers looked at the man, "he's here!" Arlong walked slowly and confidently towards Genzo with many fishmen following him.

"Are you the one?" Arlong's figure was so much bigger and more dominant than the chief's, "The one found in possession of weapons, three days ago?"

"That's right," Genzo answered, "can't a person even have a hobbyist collection under your rule? I've always liked looking at weapons."

"No, I'm afraid not," Arlong replied, "only violence and evil can come forth from weapons. They're the greatest threat to peace. Behind the house of Nojiko, Usopp was looking through one of the windows at Arlong.

' _He's huge! So that's Arlong!?_ ' Usopp thought, scared out of his wits, "He's inhuman!"

"He is a fishman." Nojiko reminded.

"But... it looks like Nami didn't come with him." Usopp replied.

"She's probably at Arlong Park." Nojiko answered.

"I've got twenty villages under my rule," Arlong started, "and 'rebels' are quite a nuisance for us, your rulers. I destroyed the rebellious port town of Gosa to teach a lesson to all the other towns! If someone fails to pay his tribute, then that means he intends to rebel against us!"

"Tribute?" Usopp whispered, "What's he talking about?"

"It's money we have to pay month after month," Nojiko answered, "we have to buy our very own lives from them with money! Adults, kids, everyone. So if there's even one person in an entire village who fails to pay his tribute, even a single person, this entire village will be destroyed just like Gosa Village."

"A whole town d-d-destroyed because of a single person!? Talk about cruel!" Usopp gasped at the thought.

"That's life under Arlong's rule," Nojiko said sadly, "with their 'racial doctrine,' they don't even think twice about killing a human."

"Hear me well, inferior humans!" Arlong announced, "All you need to do is work hard and pay the tribute! There's no need to think about anything else! What I need is an enormous sum of money! Your tribute will soon become the cornerstone or my Arlong Empire that will rule all of the East Blue!"

"Arlong Empire!?" Usopp gasped, "He's trying to build his own nation!? So then, he's gonna turn all of the East Blue in to his 'fishmen empire'!? But that would include my hometown too!"

"Whatever happens, happens," Nojiko told him simply, "all we can do is quietly sit still and endure it. For now, that is."

"For now?" Before Usopp could question some more they heard a deathly scream.

"Aghhh!" Genzo screamed.

"Gen!?" Nojiko exclaimed. Arlong held Genzo up by his collar without any stress.

"Possessing a weapon is a clear sign of rebellion," Arlong told him, "the cause of any unrest and disturbance in my lands. And so, to make sure that there aren't any more rebels like you I'll kill you to show the other villagers what happens to rebels!"

"Wha!? All he did was collect some weapons!" whispered Usopp, "He's seriously going to kill someone over that much!?"

"That son of a bitch!" Nojiko yelled as she ran towards the scuffle.

"H-hey, you! Come back here or you'll be killed!" Usopp warned.

"What's the meaning of this Arlong!?" Nojiko shouted at Arlong, "All of us have loyally paid the tribute without any complaints for the past eight years! There's no way any of us have even the slightest intention of rebelling against you! So let go of Gen!"

"Nojiko! Wait!" The villagers protested.

"I've already stated that the mere act of possessing weapons is a clear intent to rebel," Arlong reasoned, "I have no choice but to kill this man for the safety and security of my lands! Any complaints? You wouldn't rather have me destroy this entire village, would you? Know this, humans! If you lay even a finger on any one of us your village will be destroyed! That's final!"

"Everyone, go inside your homes!" Genzo demanded, "If we rebel now, then our last eight years will come to nothing! If we wanted to reject their rule by fighting to our deaths, we should've done it long ago! But we all swore, did we not? We sore to a fight of endurance! In order to live on!"

"Gen! But!" the villagers began to complain.

"Well said!" Arlong interrupted the crowd by grabbing Genzo's head, "Living is important! It is because when one lives one can enjoy things!" Arlong smashed the chief's head into one of the poles near the houses citing a loud cry from Genzo, "Everyone has their own designated place and position in life! This man understands the futility of resisting against that fact!" All the villagers gasped as Arlong held up Genzo's bloody body by his head, "You see, not all living things are born equal! Shahahaha! Humans are best living like humans!" Arlong threw Genzo towards the ground.

"Why you!" One of the villagers yelled as he prepared to punch the shark fishman.

"Stop it!" Commanded Genzo, "Don't you dare lay a hand on them!"

"Gen... but he did this to do!" The villager argued.

"Yes, what he said." Arlong agreed.

"But it's not as if he used his weapons! Please don't kill him!" The villagers pleaded.

"A loud bunch, aren't they. I wonder if I should take this as a sign of rebellion." Arlong smirked before Genzo held up his hand.

"If we die here everything will come to an end! You must keep on fighting even if I die!" Genzo told the villagers.

"Let me show you what happens to those who harbour ill thoughts!" Arlong held up Genzo, preparing to throw him towards the ground, "Watch closely, humans!"

"Gen!" The villagers cried.

"Let this be a warning to the rest of you!" Arlong shouted as he began throwing Genzo to the earth.

" **Gun-Powder Star!** " Usopp cried as he launched a pellet at Arlong which exploded against his abdomen, causing him to drop the pinwheel wearing man.

"Ugh!" Genzo groaned as he fell to the ground.

"W-what was that!? Arlong!?" The fishmen cried before they noticed Usopp standing on top of a house, "Look! Over there! There's someone standing on the roof! Identify yourself!"

"I am the brave and heroic warrior of the seas! Captain Usopp!" Usopp announced, trying to prevent his legs from shaking.

"Huh, Usopp?" The fishmen began wondering, "Never heard of him."

"It's him!" Nojiko gasped.

"Who is that!?" The villagers yelled.

"Feared by the entire world as the man from hell, they call me 'Usopp the Wicked Devil King!" Usopp cried, "I have 8000 subordinates at my command! Flee at once and I shall consider forgiving you!"

"Arlong, it's him!" Yelled the same fishman that chased after Usopp, "He's that guy I told you about earlier who escaped from me!"

"I don't care if you've got tens of thousand of followers," Arlong stated in a low tone as the smoke from the small explosion started to dissipate, "just try me! I'll crush every single last one of them!"

' _Aghhh! He's not scared at all and my gunpowder star didn't work at all!_ ' thought Usopp.

"Even though you're just a puny human!" Arlong screamed loudly, "Lowly human scum! You dare attack me!?" He ran over to the two story house that Usopp was standing on top of and lifted it up.

"Aghhhhh!" Usopp cried.

"A-Arlong, wait! You're not going to destroy another village, are you!?" The fishmen tried to settle down Arlong, "Human villages are easy to crush but our goal's to rule over them! If we turn this town into another Gosa Village, then our tribute funds will decrease again!"

"If our funds decrease, then all we have to do is conquer another village!" Arlong yelled back at the his brethren, "We are the supreme beings!" He then threw the house that Usopp was standing on top of into some of the other buildings in the village.

"Our village is being destroyed!" The villagers cried.

"He's..." Nojiko tried to look for the long-nosed pirate amongst the wreckage.

"Crap!" Usopp shouted out from the ruins, "He's gonna kill me! He's gonna kill me!"

"He's still alive!" A group of fishmen noticed as they started chasing after the pirate, "After him! Don't let him escape!"

"Catch him and kill him!" Arlong screamed.

"Let's return him to Arlong Park for now!" The remaining fishmen tried to calm down Arlong, "At this rate he's going to annihilate this entire village!" They started carrying Arlong away from the villagers.

"We'll be back," One of the main fishmen stated, "but it looks like you've managed to live another day." The villagers stared at the group of fishmen, each one of them immensely strong. They were all thinking to themselves how lucky they were.

"Aghhhhhhh!" Usopp cried as he sprinted away from the fishmen attempted to catch him.

"Hey you! Wait right there!" The fishmen ordered.

" **Certain Kill...** " Usopp turned around and pulled his slingshot back, " **Egg Star!** " He launched an egg straight at one of the fishmen's head.

"Guh!" The fishmen halted, "Ugh, it reeks! This egg is rotten!"

"D-did it work?" Usopp paused.

"You bastard!" Yelled the fishmen before they continued their chase for the pirate.

"Aghhhhh!" Usopp cried as he ran off once more. Back at the village they were discussing the events that just occurred.

"Gen, we need to get you treated." The villagers informed the chief.

"No, I'm fine. I can manage on my own. Sorry for all the trouble I've caused, everyone." Genzo reassured.

"What're you talking about? You're not the one at fault here." The villagers told their leader, "But who was that guy earlier, do you know him Gen?"

"No... can't say I do." Genzo answered.

"Long time no see, everyone." A voice called from the from the village entrance. All of the villagers looked towards the voice to see a sight that no one was exactly pleased to see.

"Nami..." They mumbled as they all started to walk away as the crowd dispersed. Nami frowned at the sight and walked further into the village before she reached her foster sister and the leader of the village.

"What is it?" Nojiko asked, "To think that you of all people would decide to stroll through the middle of town."

"Oh nothing, just curious what all the ruckus I heard was about," Nami answered simply, "guess it was Arlong. I also came her to visit Bell-mère." Nojiko nodded at her reply.

Grave On A Cliffside

"Only 7 million beli left." Nami said towards a grave with a wooden cross as she placed her flowers down.

"You're as infamous as ever." Nojiko commented.

"Well, I am a pirate," Nami responded, "but Arlong knows what's what. He knows money can get anything done. So it'll only be a little more until his promise! No matter what, I'm going to raise 100 million beli, so I can buy this village!

Arlong Park

All of the fishmen laid on the floor, battered, beaten, bloody and dead. With a superior Zoro, who had taken one of the shirts of the fishmen, sitting on Arlong's chair

"Even if she tells me to leave," Zoro began as he looked over the bodies of his former captors, "I don't have anything to do outside of here. After all, I promised Luffy to bring her back. Jeez, seems like I've got myself tied up in a complicated mess." While all of this was happening Hatchan was fishing with three of his arms, singing a song to himself outside the main entrance.

"Doo doo dah doo," He sang quietly, "looks like it's about time! Mohmoo! Time for your meal!" He called through his horn-like mouth as he held out a roasted pig.

"Huh? What's that trumpet noise I heard just now?" Zoro asked himself as he tried to find where the source of the noise came from.

"That's strange, what's with him!?" Hatchan asked himself, "Roasted pig should be his favourite! Maybe he already had his meal? Well, I'll just eat this then!"

"Was that you who blew that trumpet just now?" Zoro asked as he peered over the large brick fence guarding the park from the outside world.

"Nyu!" Hatchan cried, alerted, "W-who are you!? Who, me? I'm Hatchan! You can call me Hachi!"

"So you're a fishman too?" Zoro asked.

"Yup, yup!" Hatchan confirmed waving his arms around, "I'm a charming octopus fishman! I feel like I've seen you before! Are you with the marines? Or are you a guest?"

"Guest?" Zoro questioned, "Yeah... I'm probably more of a guest."

"But you know, Arlong's not here right now." Hatchan informed.

"Yeah, he's not, where'd he go?" asked Zoro.

"It seems that this long-nosed intruder got away from us," Hatchan stated, "we already have one of his companions tied up here but Arlong went to Cocoyashi Village to go catch the other human!'

' _Must be Usopp... well, I guess I'll go save him in the meantime._ ' thought Zoro, "How can I get to that village?"

"Get on!" Hatchan pointed to his octopus pot, "You're a guest, aren't you? I'll give you a lift!"

With Luffy, Sanji, Yosaku and Naruto

The crew were eating their food that Sanji had prepared for them on the ship, well, Sanji and Yosaku were, Naruto and Luffy were inhaling the food. They were stopped when a giant sea creature burst out from the water.

"What's that?" Luffy asked.

"It's huge..." Sanji puffed on his cigarette.

"Is it a cow?" Naruto wondered.

"Aghhhhh!" Yosaku screamed, "It's a sea monster!" In front of them was a giant sea cow. It had a big round nose with a gold nose ring, a cow-esque face and horns, green spots throughout its body yet it had a seal-like structure.

"A cow! It's so big!" Luffy exclaimed.

"A cow? And it swims? Isn't that just a hippo?" Sanji asked.

"Wonder if it belongs to Arlong." Naruto questioned.

"What's a creature like this doing in the East Blue! It's inconceivable!" Yosaku yelled, "This is a Grand Line monster!" He noticed that the monster was eyeing up the food on the table, "It must want the food! Hurry up and just give the food before he overturns our ship!"

"What!?" Luffy exclaimed, " **Gomu Gomu no Pistol!** " He threw his rubber fist straight at the sea monster's face, sending it flying, "Don't you dare touch my food!"

"You did it, brother Luffy! That was amazing!" Yosaku cheered on Luffy.

"Mooooooo!" The sea monster rose from the sea once again.

"I think you might've made it angrier." Naruto pointed out.

"I'll sock him one more time then!" Luffy cocked his fist once more, before Sanji kicked both of them on the head.

"You dumbasses!" Sanji yelled, "Don't just beat up something only for being hungry! I'm sure it's injured somewhere so it can't find food on its own. Isn't that right?" He stared into the eyes of the sea monster.

"Talk about caring..." Yosaku mumbled.

"Here eat up," Sanji held up the meat he prepared for Luffy. As the sea monster was about to eat the food Sanji kicked it in the chinr sending it skywards, "Die!"

"What was that!?" Yosaku shouted.

"That thing was about to take a bit out of of me too." Sanji stated.

"Moooooooo!" The sea monster cried out in pain.

"Ahhh, it's coming to sink the ship!" Yosaku shrieked.

"Then I'll-" Luffy began.

"Move over. I'll deal with him myself," Sanji said as he ran up the mast and jumped up to meet the face of the sea monster, " **Coluer Shoot!** " He kicked the monster with as much power as he could muster in his collar bone, "Damn hippo."

"Whoa!" Luffy exclaimed as the sea monster was sent flying into the sea.

"Alright, let's eat!" Luffy announced.

"That was a nice little exercise." Sanji sighed.

"Can you get me some more ramen?" Naruto asked.

"These people are insane..." Yosaku whispered to himself,

"Yosaku, gimme some tea!" Luffy ordered.

"Me too!" Sanji added.

"Coming right up." Yosaku sighed to himself.

Cocoyashi Village

"We're here!" Hatchan announced as he and Zoro arrived at the village, "This is Cocoyashi Village! Arlong should be here somewhere!"

"Alright, thanks." Zoro replied as he climbed out of the octopus pot.

"Don't mention it!" Hatchan told him happily as he swam away, "Take care! And come visit again! Bye then!"

"Yeah... he's a strange fishman, alright," Zoro said to himself as he turned to face the village, "so that saw-nose is in this town too, huh... well, whatever... I'll look for our long-nose first."

Arlong Park

"What's the meaning of this!?" Arlong screamed as he saw his brothers defeated, "Just what on earth happened here!? My brethren!"

"Z-zoro..." One of the fishmen spat out.

"Roronoa Zoro!?" Arlong stated, "That pirate hunter!? Did he come for my head!?"

"N-no, that's n-not it..." said the fishman, "that guy...was Zoro... that g-guy with the haramaki we c-caught earlier... was Zoro!"

"What!?" Arlong shouted.

"Chu!" announced a muscular, blue skinned fisherman who had thick lips. His Arlong Pirates tattoo could be seen on his right shoulder and he wore a necklace, a striped blue vest, dark-brown leather pants, and sandals, he walked into the park carrying Usopp by his neck, "I finally caught him! I could've killed him but I thought you'd feel a lot better if you killed him yourself."

"That pipsqueak ain't nearly enough to satisfy my rage right now..." Arlong stated angrily.

"R-right!? Then w-why don't you just let me go, huh!?" Usopp stuttered, "That uhh... thing I did earlier was just my way of saying hello! Everyone in my hometown says hello that way!"

"Chu!" stated the fishman holding Usopp, "Wait a minute, what happened here!?"

' _Could it have been... Zoro!?'_ thought Usopp.

"But how did he escape?" One of the other fishmen asked. He had the typical appearance of a martial artist, with a dark blue go and a black belt. He had his hair tied into a straight ponytail and his tattoo of the sun could be seen on the right side of his chest, "Have you considered this line of thought, Arlong? Mabye Nami purposely brought him here so he could try and take your head?"

"Nami!?" Arlong questioned.

"Now that you mention it, she was acting pretty funny today hmm," The fishmen started wondering, "yeah, she did dive into the water to save him. Betraying people is her specialty after all."

"Alright, that's enough!" Nami announced from the entrance of the park, "Don't just make conclusions from false premises! Just what are you trying to say!?"

' _Nami! So you're really one of them!'_ thought Usopp.

"Eight years ago," Nami began, "I swore on this tattoo that I'd be a member of the Arlong Pirates! It won't even be long before I raised up the promised amount, so why would I risk all of that by pulling a stupid stunt like this!?" Name started thinking to herself, _'That Zoro! He just had to go and cause more unnecessary trouble!'_

"Of course, my bad, my bad," Arlong laughed, "I apologise for doubting you. Considering you've been nothing but a loyal crewmember for the past eight years, you're certainly more than justified to get angry at us. We were a little too rash but we believe you. The ones we need to get rid of right now are Roronoa Zoro and his companion!" He grabbed Usopp around the chest and had a knife against his neck.

"W-wait! Help!" Usopp cried.

"The bounty on my head is the highest in all of the East Blue at 20 million beli," Arlong bragged, "considering that, it's only natural that a well-known bounty hunter would come for me. So where is this Roronoa Zoro hiding!? He's not the most classy guy if he thinks he can sneak in here and cut down my brethren while I'm out!"

"I... I don't know!" Usopp answered, "I really have nothing to do with this Zoro guy you're talking about! Please let me go!"

"Chu! I advise you stop with the bad lies," The fishman with the thick lips warned, "it's undeniable that you personally attacked Arlong as well. There's not a chance that we'd let you free."

"Alright, I admit it!" Usopp caved under the pressure, "M-me and Zoro are real tight bros! S-s-so you better not lay a single finger on me! Or else Zoro will come and kill all of you!"

"Talk about a change in attitude." The fishmen mumbled.

"Oh? So you mean to say that Zoro will come if I kill you?" Arlong asked.

"Wha!?" Usopp cried, "N-no! That's not it! Killing me would be the wrong thing to do! If you keep me alive, Zoro should definitely come to save me! In fact, if you don't keep me alive, he'll never come! Hey Nami! Say something!"

"What's wrong, Nami?" The martial artist fishman asked, "You look a little troubled, no?"

"It seems like you're still doubting me quite a bit." Nami smirked.

"It's because I know what you're like that I'm doubting you," The fishman reasoned, "you're a little too cunning."

 _'Damn it, I'm not going to let myself be killed because of some stupid misunderstanding!'_ thought Nami, _'Why does everything need to go wrong now of all times!? Just when I'm so close to achieving my goal!'_

"Nami!" Usopp called from Arlong's grasp, "I'm real disappointed in you! You witch! Luffy didn't doubt you for a single second even after he heard you ran away! He completely trusts you! Even now! But to think you've been deceiving him all along without even batting an eye!"

"Sorry, but the only thing I trust is money," Nami responded, "blame his idiocy for being duped."

"What did you just say!?" Usopp shouted in anger. Before he could continue there was a large splash from the water as Hatchan jumped onto land.

"Yo!" The octopus fishman announced, "Why's everyone all gathered here? Nyu!? Arlong, you're back! Welcome back!" He waved at his boss before he looked to see his fallen compatriots, "What's this!?"

"It's the work of that infamous Pirate Hunter Zoro," Arlong explained, "where were you, Hachi? If you were only here, this would've never happened."

"Damn right!" Hatchan agreed, "Like I would ever let the guy who offed my crewmates go scot-free! Why that Zoro! I'll kill him!"

"So you don't know anything about where Zoro could've gone to?" The fishmen asked.

"Nope, nothing!" Hatchan answered, "The only one I remember meeting was this rather suspicious lone swordsman. Could it have been him!?"

"So you did meet him, you dumbass!" The fishmen shouted, "Where did he go!?"

"I just gave him a ride to Cocoyashi Village." Hatchan replied feeling rather guilty that he let someone kill his brothers.

"You gave him a ride!?" The fishmen yelled.

"B-but... it was only because I thought he was Arlong's guest that I gave him a ride to the village so he could meet you," Hatchan told them, "I never thought you'd come back here so soon."

"Then that means there's no need for us to rush," Arlong revealed, "because he's looking for me too."

' _Zoro's looking for Arlong!? What's he planning he shouldn't have any reason to fight Arlong...'_ thought Usopp.

' _If I let things get any more out of hand than this, then I'll really be in trouble!'_ Nami thought to herself.

"By the way, who's he?" Hatchan pointed towards Usopp, still being held by Arlong.

"He's Zoro's companion," Arlong explained, "even though he's just a human, he thought he could take on us fishmen." Nami, alarmed that her loyalty was under severe pressure, gripped her bo staff tightly and knocked Usopp out of Arlong's grasp by slamming it against Usopp's face.

"Ughh!" Usopp groaned as he fell to the floor.

"Nami!" Arlong chided his cartographer.

"You!" Usopp wiped the blood from his nose, "You wanna fight, is that it!?"

"You're a nuisance," Nami looked down on the liar, "it's your own fault for going against Arlong. It's my fault that that I let you guys follow me this far. But there are certain rules on this island that you're all ignorant of. Everything was going without a hitch until you guys got here. I can't let you ruin the business I've been running for the past eight years. That's why the least I can do is kill you with my own hands."

"Kill?" Usopp questioned, "Hahaha, don't make me laugh! I may not be the strongest guy out there, but there's no way I'd be weak enough to be killed by you!"

"Oh... looks like she's become quite the pirate." Arlong noted while the fishmen still alive were cheering on their crewmember.

"It'd be best for your own safety," Nami rushed Usopp, "to not think of me as me anymore!"

 _'Now's my chance! If I stayed here any longer, I would've been killed for sure!'_ thought Usopp, " **Certain Kill...** " Usopp pulled back his slingshot, " **Smoke Star!** " He sent a smoke bomb towards Nami, shrouding them all in a smokescreen.

"That bastard!" The fishmen yelled, "He used a smoke bomb! Surround the place! Don't let him escape!"

"I thought you might try something like that." Nami smirked.

' _All I have to do now is escape by water!_ ' thought Usopp.

"How typical." Nami said before she struck Usopp with her pole through the smoke.

"Ugh!" Usopp moaned as he was sent across the floor. He looked up to see Nami approaching him with a knife in her hand.

"W-w-wait!" Usopp cried. But he couldn't stop her before she stabbed him right in the gut, "How..." Usopp spat as blood dripped from his beaten body, "could you... Nami..."

"For the sake of my business, this was the only way," Nami explained as Usopp looked at the blood on his hand, she then pulled her knife out of his body, "now go to your grave quietly!"

"Shahahahahaha!" Arlong laughed, "An excellent revenge, indeed! That's an Arlong Pirate's crew officer for ya!"

"A-ahhhhhhhh...!" cried someone peeking through one of the square holes in the gate quietly, "This is bad..." It was Johnny who was sweating all over, "b-b-brother Usopp was... killed by... sister Nami! How can this be!?"

"My apologies for doubting you," said the doubting fishman as Nami walked over to Arlong, "you truly are one of us."

"One of you? Don't lump me together with the likes of you," Nami replied, "there's only one reason why I joined this crew! And that's to raise 100 million beli and buy Cocoyashi Village from you. Consider me as more of an ally."

"You've betrayed both your fellow villagers and your mother," the same fishman continued, "and so I've always wondered why you, who believes in nothing else but money, would want to buy a crummy little village. That is, until I found this in your room." He held up an old, worn-out map.

"That's mine!" Nami exclaimed.

"Hm? What is it?" Arlong asked.

"Your what?" The fishman asked, "Don't you seem quite flustered. This is a worn-out treasure map! A map of this island that, without a doubt, points specifically at Cocoyashi Village!"

"H-hidden treasure!? A treasure trove!?" The fishmen grew excited, "That's amazing! Let me see, let me see!"

"Give it back," Arlong commanded, "that's Nami's map."

"Don't you dare touch it!" Nami snatched the map back, "This is mine! I've had enough of your stupid suspicions. I really don't care whether you trust me or not but I do care about our promise. You wouldn't just call it off after all these years, would you?"

"Of course not," Arlong replied, "I would rather die than break a promise involving money. That's the kind of man I am."

"As expected," Nami responded as she walked into the building, "you're a reasonable man, Arlong."

"Arlong..." The thick-lipped fishman started, "such an unpleasent woman."

"Shahahahaha!" Arlong laughed, "I'd say she's turned into a fine woman!"

"I must tell Brother Zoro that's she's a witch!" Johnny stated, crying outside the park.

"I can see Arlong Park!" Luffy shouted as they approached the park with the cow sea monster dragged them along.

"Moo!" The sea monster cried.

"Hey! Don't get tired now, you hippo!" Sanji demanded.

"I think it might have something to do with your kicks." Naruto told him.

"Hey!" Sanji noticed that the monster wasn't swimming towards Arlong Park and instead into the shore, "You're swimming the wrong way! Turn to the left!"

"It's this building!" Luffy directed.

"We're gonna crash into the shore!" Yosaku cried.

"Aghhh!" The crew cried.

"Hmm? What's that sound?" Zoro asked himself as he ran towards the park.

"Huh? I think I just heard something really loud over by the port!" Some of the villagers noticed.

"Aghhh!" The crew cried once more as they were sent flying.

"Yahoo! It's like we're really flying!" Luffy exclaimed.

"That's because we were sent flying, you idiot!" Sanji yelled.

"We're gonna fall!" Yosaku held onto the mast as hard as he could, "We're gonna crash into the trees! Aghhh!" Fortunately for the crew they landed safely on the ground.

"Whew, we've landed!" Luffy yelled, holding tightly onto his hat.

"But we're not stopping!" Sanji shouted.

"The hell was that noise just now?" Zoro asked, "Did someone drop a bomb on this island or something? Well in any case, I have to hurry up or Usopp will be k-"

"Is that Zoro?" Naruto asked as the ship came crashing out of the trees right in front of Zoro.

"Oh! Zoro!" Luffy greeted his swordsman.

"Bro!" Yosaku beamed.

"Luffy!" Zoro shouted as the ship crashed right into him. The continued on their course for a few hundred meters before they stopped, "The hell do you think you're doing!?"

"What do you mean?" Luffy asked, "We've obviously come to get Nami back. Haven't you found her yet? Where's Usopp and Johnny?"

"Hey, you alright?" Sanji asked Yosaku who was stuck in the wreckage of the ship.

"Usopp? Oh crap!" Zoro got back up to his feet, "We can't be wasting time!"

"Hm? What's wrong?" Luffy asked.

"That idiot got himself caught by Arlong! If we don't hurry up, he'll be k-" Before Zoro could continue he was interrupted by Johnny who had just arrived.

"He was already killed!" The whole crew looked towards him, "It's too late."

"Johnny?" Zoro asked.

"Brother Usopp..." Johnny began to cry, "was murdered by Sister Nami." The crew gasped at the news.

West Coast of Cocoyashi Village

"Look, the shore's been all gouged out," The villagers had crowded around where the ship had landed, "but there's no traces of anything here. Not even the smell of gunpowder. Just what on earth happened here?"

"Hey, look!" One of the villagers pointed out a ship that they could see coming into the village from afar.

"Isn't that a marine ship!?" questioned Genzo.

"It doesn't look like any marine ship I've ever seen." One of the villagers stated.

"It must not be from the marine base near this region." Nojiko stated.

"Hey! Sis!" Chabo greeted Nojiko as he ran towards the crowd.

"Ah, the kid from Gosa." Nojiko remembered the boy.

"Can you see the marine ship!?" Chabo asked enthusiastically.

"You mean that?" The blue haired woman pointed out to the ship.

"Yeah! The government sent it to aid Gosa Village!" Chabo beamed with excitement, "They've sent a ship for us!"

"They sent a ship!?" Nojiko asked.

"That's right! Some of the survivors from my village managed to contact the government!" Chabo explained. On the ship the marines looked on Arlong Park with disgust.

"So is that the rumoured Arlong Park?" The commodore onboard questioned, "The world must be coming to an end if pirates can set up a cozy base and strut their stuff like that."

"I couldn't agree more," One of the marines agreed, "Commodore Purin Purin!" The commodore looked towards his men.

"Listen up, men," He prepared his marines, "our misison today is only to rescue the survivors of Gosa Village which was recently destroyed by the Arlong Pirates! However, does that allow us, who stand for justice, to simply overlook a pirate fortress right in front of our eyes!?"

"No, sir, no!" The marines saluted.

"The 77th branch?" Arlong asked from inside the park.

"Yes, that's what it says." One of the fishmen answered.

"Must be new," Arlong commented, "someone go over there and negotiate with their captain. If you can't buy'em off for 2 million, then just get rid of them."

"Agh! They've fired their cannons!" The fishmen cried as a cannonball flew over the gates and towards Arlong, "Watch out, Arlong!" Arlong, however, didn't move from his position and instead opened his mouth and crushed the cannonball with his jaws, "He stopped a cannonball... with his teeth! W-what monstrous jaw strength..."

"Do you still wish to proceed with the negotiations?" The martial artist fishman known as Kuroobi asked.

"Cancel it." Arlong spat out some shrapnel from his jaw.

"Alright, it's time for battle!" The fishmen cheered.

"Chu," The blue fishman known as Chew told the fishmen, "hold up, you guys. There's no need for you to expend a whole lot of effort just to get rid of some trash, chu."

"Just leave'em to us!" Hatchan stated confidently, "Right Kuroobi?"

"Those humans are truly foolish if they think they can challenge us out on the seas." Kuroobi, the rayfish fishman, answered.

"Heh, this'll be quite a sight if all three of our officers are fighting," The fishmen commentated, "That ship won't even last three minutes."

"That's strange," The marines began discussing on the ship, "Commodore! It seems that the cannonball failed to explode."

"Fire another shot then," The commodore ordered, "this is our declaration of war! We must show them that we're prepared to fight no matter what! Our enemies are fishmen so do not let down your guards, men!"

"Yes, Commodore Purin Purin!" The marines chanted, "Lighting the cannon!"

"Wait." Chew commanded as he jumped out of the water.

"Aghhh!" The marines cried.

" **Mizudeppo!** " Chew spat out water as quick and as powerful as a bullet. He shot straight through several marines.

"It's the Arlong Pirates!" The marines announced, "Prepare for battle!"

"Wait! Calm down, men!" The commodore ordered, "I am Commodore Purin Purin of the marine's 77th branch. My men and I are a fairly renowned troop of elite marines, it'd be best if you just surrendered peacef-" Before he could finish he was killed easily as Chew spat yet another water bullet straight into his head.

"Sir!" The marines cried, "How dare you! Kill him!" As they started rushing Chew the ship started shaking and trembling, "What's going on!? Could a fishman be underneath our ship right now!?"

"As of now your ship's rudder has been removed," Chew told the marines, "and a ship without a working rudder has only one destination... the bottom of the sea." Underneath the sea Hatchan had all of his hands against a reef.

"My job's to move this reef!" He told himself, "Let's do this! Uooohhh!"

"Just what the hell do you want!?" The marines yelled.

"Let's make this ship easier to sink..." Kuroobi cocked his fist back underneath the surface of the sea, "Eii!"

"Ahhhh!" The marines yelled yet again as there was another tremendous rumble along the ship.

"Let's say for example," Chew began, "a great reef was moved right in the middle of a strong tidal current... just what do you suppose will happen then?"

"Aghh!" The marines cried as a whirlpool appeared ahead of them, "A gigantic whirlpool suddenly appeared right in front of us! That's impossible! The rudder won't work! We're being sucked in!" All you could hear as the marine ship was being sucked into the whirlpool were the bloody screams of the marines. The crowd of villagers looked upon the sight with horror.

"Even though they came to save us..." Nojiko sighed, "this is the cruel reality. No one can hope to escape from Arlong's rule."

"Sorry for making you go through all that trouble, boys." Arlong apologised to his most powerful officers as they made their way back into the complex.

"Heh, it's nothing as long as we know everything there is to know about these seas from the winds to the ocean floors." Chew replied.

"With Nami's sea charts and our abilities, no one can challenge us on the seas." Hatchan boasted.

"Speaking of which," Chew began, "Nami's an invaluable member if we're to create our Arlong Empire. But didn't you promise to let her and her village go free once she pays 100 million beli?"

"Of course," Arlong grinned, showing his spiky teeth, "as I've said before, I'm a man who would rather die than break a promise involving money.

With the Crew

"Say it one more time and I swear I'll kick your ass!" Luffy shouted as he held Johnny against the ground.

"Luffy, stop!" Zoro tried to hold his captain back, "It's not as if Johnny's the one at fault here."

"Luffy you should probably let go before you end up killing him." Naruto advised.

"He's making up bullshit!" Luffy shouted, "There's no way that Nami would kill Usopp! We're crewmates!"

"It's fine if you don't want to believe it!" Johnny told him, still crying, "But I saw it with my very own eyes!"

"Just who did you call crewmates, Luffy?" Nami asked as she approached the crew.

"Nami?" Luffy asled.

"What did you come to this island for?" Nami asked.

"What're you talking about?" Luffy asked back, "Aren't we crewmates? We've come for you, of course!"

"Well, you're nothing but a nuisance." Nami told them all.

"And you aren't?" Naruto replied as he laid back underneath the shade of a nearby tree.

"What'd you say?" Nami asked angrily.

"You were so afraid to fight when you were with us and now that you've left you've suddenly become all tough?" Naruto stated with both of his eyes closed, "Don't come here and start acting like you're one of them cause your not."

"Shut up!" Nami shouted.

"Why should I?" Naruto asked, "You were the one that ditched us in the middle of a fight. You abandoned your crewmates. You really are a witch."

"Crewmates? Don't make me laugh," Nami told them all, "it was nothing but a stupid little cooperation."

"Stupid was it?" Naruto questioned, opening both eyes and staring directly into the 'witches' eyes, "Then you would be fine with us if we just left right now, leaving you here with Arlong and this village." When Naruto said this Nami lowered her head slightly before raising it once again, strongly.

"Stop Naruto," Luffy told his first mate, "we came here to get our navigator back, not fight!"

"Nami!" Sanji greeted the navigator as he danced over to her, "It's me! Do you remember me? Let's set sail together!"

"Shut up!" Zoro stopped him, "Can't you see you're making things more complicated by butting in!?"

"What was that? Don't you know love is always a hurricane!?" Sanji yelled back.

"I told you so! She's a witch!" Johnny pointed towards Nami, "If it means she can get her hands on the treasure hidden in her village, she'll gladly join the Arlong Pirates and even kill! She's a cold-blooded witch through and through! You've all been deceived right from the start! And I swear I saw her stabbing Usopp!"

"So what? Would you like to try and avenge him?" Nami taunted them.

"Yes," Naruto answered simply, "we'll kill Arlong then I'll kill you."

"Naruto, shut up!" Luffy told the blonde as he struck him on the head.

"Hmph," Nami smirked, "Let me tell you one thing. After the idiotic stunt that Zoro pulled, Arlong wants Roronoa Zoro and all his companions dead. No matter how monstrously strong you may all be, you're no match at all for the real monster."

"I couldn't care less about that," Zoro shook off her previous statement, "where's Usopp?"

"At the bottom of the ocean." Nami answered with a confident grin.

"Bullshit," Naruto stood up and looked at their former navigator, "you're not a killer. Look at yourself, you're shaken up. You're eyes tell it all. When you left I bet you didn't think that we would come here. You're acting like a victim, but really you're just like all the other criminals out there. You're nothing special, you're nothing more than a dumb b-"

"Shut up!" Luffy shouted before he knocked Naruto out with a strong fist to the head, "You're crewmates!"

"This isn't the time to be bickering! This is an emergency!" Johnny told them.

"That's right!" Nami agreed, trying to remain confident, "If you're going to fight, why don't you do it somewhere other than this island? I'd rather not have outsiders stick their noses in this island's affairs anymore! Do you still not get it!? I only stuck around with you for the money! And now that you don't even have a cent, I couldn't care less about you! If it's about the ship, I'll give it back. So go find another navigator and go search for your little One Piece or whatever! Now get off of this island! You're an eyesore! Farewell."

"Nami..." Luffy whispered as he closed his eyes and fell to the ground.

"Ahh!" Johnny yelled, "Brother Luffy!?"

"I'm gonna sleep." He told them simply.

"Sleep!?" The crew yelled, "In this emergency!? And in the middle of the road!?"

"I don't feel like leaving this island yet," Luffy explained, "and I don't really care about what's going on this island either... and I'm sleepy. So I'm sleeping." The whole crew gawked at this.

"Fine, do whatever the hell you want!" Nami shouted, "You can die for all I care! And as for Naruto! He can go kill himself! The world will be better off without him!"

"Maybe you should tell him that," Luffy said, "see how he reacts." Nami stormed off angrily.

"You're all out of your minds!" Johnny told them all, "It's as that insane witch just said! Brother Usopp's been killed and Arlong's out to get us!"

"Just what reason do you have for staying on this island any longer!?" Yosaku asked, "I, for one, believe in what Johnny said he saw!"

"It's only been a short while but I'm afraid this is where we must part," Johnny informed the crew, "we have no desire to be hunted down and killed by Arlong!"

"Fine." Zoro told them.

"May we meet again someday!" The duo told them as they exited, "Take care, my brothers!"

"You too!" Zoro replied.

Cocoyashi Village

The wet Usopp walked through the village contemplating what had just occurred back at Arlong Park.

' _if she's really a cold-blooded witch, she wouldn't have covered for me! I can't believe that she stabbed her own hand to cover for me,'_ thought Usopp, _'if Nami hadn't done that, I would've been killed for sure by Arlong'_

"That octopus dude said he gave Zoro a ride to Cocoyashi Village," Usopp said to himself, "so the first thing I should do is meet up with him! Wait a second. Arlong said something about Zoro looking for him as well. Don't tell me he's charging straight for Arlong Park!? Damn it!" Usopp started running as fast as he could towards the park, "Faster, Usopp, faster! Please don't be at Arlong Park, Zoro!"

"Hey." Sanji attempted to get Zoro's attention.

"What?" Zoro asked.

"Why did Naruto get all aggressive with Nami back there?" asked Sanji.

"I don't know," Zoro answered, "he's usually pretty calm."

"I wonder why he got that way." Sanji stated.

"You can ask him once he's woken up." Zoro told him.

"Hmm, you think Nami really killed long-nose?" asked Sanji.

"Who knows? Maybe after I called her 'small-time' she got so pissed off that she really did kill him." Zoro grinned.

"Small time!?" Sanji angrily responded.

"Ahh! Isn't that Zoro right there!?" Usopp yelled as he approached the swordsman, "Oh thank god! I thought you might've gone to Arl-"

"Nami's breasts aren't small time!" Sanji attempted to strike Zoro.

"Is that all you can think about!?" Zoro tried to block the kick, however, Usopp's face fell in between both warriors.

"Eh, he's alive." Sanji commented.

"But maybe not anymore." Zoro stated.

Nojiko and Nami's House

Nojiko was picking tangerines in the grove by her house when she heard the door slam.

"Hm?" Nojiko heard the noise and finished up gathering the tangerines. When she entered her house she saw Nami sitting on her chair with her head against the table. The windows were smashed and many of the tables and chairs were broken and thrown around, the window frames on the wall had been cracked, "Nice mess you've made for me, Nami. What's wrong?"

"Sounds like a good bunch." Nojiko smiled.

"They came here to try and get me back," Nami told her "I appreciate the gesture but I don't think that anyone can beat Arlong."

"I see..." Nojiko nodded. The duo stayed at the table for a while before Nami fell asleep. Nojiko grabbed a blanket and placed it on Nami's shoulders, "I can see why she'd get so upset. Friends, huh... that's the one word... that hurts you more than anything."

With The Crew

"Usopp!" Luffy cried as he held up the bloody sniper, "Did Nami do this to you!?"

"Uh no," Sanji butted in, "That was actually because of him and I." He pointed to Zoro.

"You mean just you." said Zoro. By this point Naruto had regained his consciousness and was sitting next to the cook and the swordsman.

"Ah, Luffy! You're here too?" Usopp was relieved at that.

"Yup." Luffy smiled.

"I've decided to come along too. Nice to meet you." Sanji waved at Usopp.

"You!" Usopp yelled, "I'll kill you one of these days! In any case, the problem is Nami. She saved my life. If you ask me, there must be some reason why she ended up joining the Arlong Pirates!"

"It's useless," Nojiko voiced as he approached the crew, gaining attention, "no matter what you do, you won't be able to change Arlong's rule."

"Nojiko." Usopp stated.

"Who's she?" Luffy asked.

"She's Nami's sister." answered Usopp.

"N-n-nami's sister!? Well, it's no wonder why she's so beautiful then!" Sanji exclaimed.

"What do you mean useless?" Zoro asked.

"Please don't involve yourselves with this village any further," Nojiko requested, "I'll tell you all about how things got this way, so in return, I want you to just leave quietly."

"I'm fine," Luffy told her, "I'm not really interested in her past. I'm taking a walk."

"Take a walk?" Usopp, "You're not going to listen?"

"No, I'm cool." Luffy replied as he walked away.

"What's with him?" Nojiko questioned.

"Don't mind him, that's just the kind of guy he is," Zoro told her, "but we'll listen to what you have to say. Though I doubt hearing your story will change anything."

"... But you're sleeping." Nojiko pointed out as she heard the snoring noses coming from Zoro.

"Don't just fall asleep as soon as you say that!" Usopp scolded, "Well, I for one, will listen to understand what's going on."

"Me too." Sanji smiled at the thought of both Nami and Nojiko.

"Might as well." Naruto mumbled.

"I see, no wonder they're giving Nami so much trouble," Nojiko sighed, "Nami and I are foster sisters, we were taken in by a woman called Bell-mère, a female marine. We were dysfunctional but we were as close as a real family. Unfortunately for us, Bell-mère's tangerine trees only provided meagre means of support and we weren't able to afford anything other than the bare necessities. But because of Nami's passion for cartography, she would often steal from the village bookshop. A year later, the prices of tangerines fell due to a large supply, so we had less money than ever before. Coincidentally, it was at this point that Arlong, who had just taken over Conomi Islands, came up Cocoyashi Village. He was so strong and killed anyone who stood in his path and imposed a fee on every adult and child in the village in order to 'live."

"You had to pay just to live?" Sanji asked.

"Yes," Nojiko nodded her head, "it was alright for the first couple of months. But it changed when Arlong came to our house. Because of how hard it was to make a living off of selling tangerines, Bell-mère couldn't pay for her entire family's monthly fee and she was used as an example by Arlong to demonstrate to the townspeople what will happen to them if they ever go against him and fail to pay the fee. She was murdered right in front of me and Nami."

"How horrible." Usopp commented.

"It was," Nojiko agreed, "when the fishmen were raiding our house, they tumbled upon the maps that Nami had made and they were astounded that she had such an innate ability of drawing maps at such a young age. So she was kidnapped and forced to become Arlong's cartographer. However, Arlong struck a deal with Nami, if she brought him 100 million beli he would free her village. So for the past eight years Nami and has been making maps for Arlong and stealing from pirates in order to buy back her village. Do you have any idea how painful it was for her when she was barely ten years old?"

"So in order to save her village she forced herself to join the very pirates who killed her mother." Usopp realised.

"How dare they cause pain to my beloved Nami!" Sanji exclaimed, "I'll kill those pirates!" Nojiko then proceeded to knock him over the head with her mallet, "W-what was that for!?"

"That's exactly what I've come to tell you not to do!" Nojiko stated, "Because of you going around calling Nami your friend and causing trouble those pirates are starting to doubt her, putting her eight years of hard work in jeopardy! So please... don't make her suffer anymore!"

"Why should we?" Naruto asked.

"What!?" Nojiko responded.

"Naruto, don't get into another fight." Sanji told his crewmate.

"I'm just wondering why you think that we are going to do what you ask," Naruto stated, "I mean we are pirates, aren't we? Aren't we meant to pillage, rape and murder? Maybe we didn't come back here to get our navigator back, maybe it was to kill her for backstabbing us and taking our money. If it was up to me, I'd kill Nami right now and then I'd go for Arlong. But if I did that I'm pretty sure Luffy would kill me."

"Don't you care about what's going on on this island at all!?" Nojiko shouted.

"Not really," Naruto yawned, "that story that you just told us isn't uncommon. Lot's of kids have to live parentless and go through a tough struggle. Just because you told us about her past, that doesn't change what we are going to do here."

"You're an asshole!" Nojiko cried as she pulled out her mallet, to which Naruto grinned.

"Please," Naruto encouraged with both of arms out making a 'come at me' gesture, "try me."

"Stop it, both of you," Zoro commanded, as if we he was rebuking disobedient children, "we're not here to fight amongst ourselves. If you do then you'll waste all your energy before we even meet Arlong."

"Fine." Naruto muttered as laid back and closed his eyes.

"You guys are going to die if you fight Arlong!" Nojiko warned, "Don't you care about your own life!?"

"That's our problem." Zoro replied.

Cocoyashi Village

Luffy was strolling through the village, taking a look at all the attractions, before he noticed Genzo leading a group of marine soldiers and Nezumi through the village. Luffy gasped at the sight.

"What business do the marines have with Nami?" Genzo asked threateningly.

"Chichichi," Nezumi chuckled to himself ominously, "that's none of your concerns. Just lead the way." All the villagers looked on as their chief led the marines away to Nami's house. Luffy stayed there, still amazed.

"Why does that man have a pinwheel on his head!?" Luffy was amazed at the prospect.

Nojiko and Nami's House

"Alright!" Nami announce as she stood outside the house, "Time to set out for my last haul!" she turned to noticed the marines approaching her as they walked through the tangerine groves with Genzo leading them, _'Gen? And the marines!?'_ thought Nami.

"Chichichi... I'm Captain Nezumi of the marine's 16th branch," Nezumi introduced himself, "you must be Nami, the criminal."

"Criminal?" Nami asked with her arms crossed, "Well, I guess that's true considering how I am a pirate. But I'll have you know that I'm a crew officer for the Arlong Pirates. I'm sure a marine captain such as yourself should be well aware that Arlong won't sit still if you happened to harm me. So tell me, what do you want from me?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about. You're a pirate?" Nezumi questioned, "The information I received mentioned no such thing. Don't worry though, we're not here to hurt you... but... I have received reports of your thievery. From what I've heard, you steal treasure from pirates. Since your victims were pirates, we have no intention of laying any strong charges against you. However, a thief is a thief and a crime is a crime. Do you understand what I'm getting at? It's only natural that stolen good of criminals should be given to the government so they can be returned to their rightful owners."

"What did you say!?" Nami and Genzo yelled, alarm bells ringing inside their heads.

"I'm saying that you need to hand over all your stolen goods to us, this instant!" Nezumi demanded, "Search her house!"

"Yessir!" The marines pushed over Nami as they entered the house.

"W-wait!" Nami shouted, "You can't just enter other people's homes without permission!" Her statements didn't make a difference, so, in the heat of the moment, she took out her bo staff and smacked two marines, "I said stop! Don't you all have something more important to take care of!? The Arlong Pirates are going around killing people and destroying villages on this island! You know that, don't you!? All the people on this island are slaves under their rule! Yet you ignore that crisis and instead decide to confiscate the stolen goods of one petty thief!? Is that how the government prioritises things!?"

"Chichichi!" Nezumi laughed, "Criminals shouldn't speak so high-handedly, little girl! Ignore her and continue on with the search!"

"Even though the people of this island have been waiting for years for the marines to help you pass them by without even so much as a glance and come right for me!?" Nami yelled.

"Captain, these tangerine fields seem rather suspicious." One of the marines commented.

"Dig up the fields then!" Nezumi ordered.

"Don't you dare touch Bell-mère's tangerines with your filthy hands!" Nami started to hit the marines again, "I'll never hand over my money to the likes of you! That money is-"

"That money is for the sake of every resident here in Cocoyashi Village!" Genzo proclaimed, "Do you still believe you have the right to take that money away!?"

"Hmm?" Nezumi wondered, "is that the way a mere villager should be addressing a marine captain?"

"Gen?" Nami questioned, "How did you... know that?"

"I knew all along, Nami," Genzo answered, "back then, we couldn't believe what you had done no matter what, so we forced Nojiko to tell us the truth. Everyone in the village knew all along. But we feared that if you knew that we knew our hopes would pressure you into staying if you ever wanted to run away from it all. That's why we pretended not to know."

"Wha..." Nami gasped.

"What on earth is the meaning of this?" Nezumi asked, "Does this mean that all the villagers in this town were abetting a thief? So we should arrest all of you?"

"They're saying that the government is hopeless," Nojiko voiced as she entered the grove, "so they have no choice but to fend for themselves! If you have no intention of saving this village then get the hell out this instant! Arlong might attack your ship if you linger around here too long, you know!"

"Arlong? Attack our ship? I wonder about that." Nezumi smirked.

"What?" Nami began to think.

"Have you still not found it!?" Nezumi yelled to his officers, "We're not looking for a single grain of rice here! She should have 100 million beli hidden here! It'd be impossible not to find it!"

"What!? How could possibly know how much there!?" Genzo shouted.

"Hm? Oh, I just had a feeling she'd have that much." Nezumi answered.

"It can't be!" Nami said as she heard the horrible, haunting laughter that tormented her for much of her childhood in her head, "Was this Arlong's idea!?"

"I wouldn't go that far," Nezumi grinned evily, "as worker of the government, we're only doing our natural duty of persecuting thieves."

"Why you corrupt bastards!" Genzo shouted.

"How could marines let themselves be ordered around by a pirate!" Nojiko yelled.

' _Arlong!'_ Nami screamed inside her head.

"Take them away from here," Nezumi ordered as his marines lined up in front of him with their flintlocks, "they're hindering the search."

"Yessir!" The marines yelled as they shot their guns. Before they could hit Nami, Nojiko jumped in front of them.

"Nojiko!" Genzo and Nami both cried.

"Quick! We need to take her to the village!" Genzo told his compatriot, "We need to get out of here." Nami nodded her head as they carried Nojiko back to the village centre.

"Should we go after them?" The marines asked.

"No," Nezumi dismissed them, "what can they do? Either way, we need to get the money." As they were carrying the body of Nojiko through the village, all the villagers were getting very anxious.

"Hey!" They started yelling.

"What's going on Gen!? What happened!?"

"Don't tell me that the marines shot her!"

"Oh?" Luffy looked up from his position underneath the shade of a tree, he could see Nami surrounded by the other villagers and he bounced cheerfully over to her, "Hey Nami, what's up? Need any help?"

"You're still here!?" Nami yelled as she grabbed Luffy's shirt and pulled him up to her face, "This has nothing to do with you! So just get the hell off of this island!" In her anger she threw Luffy to the ground and started running off.

"Nami! Where're you going!?" Genzo shouted at her.

 _'Arlong! Arlong! Arlong!_ ' Nami screamed in her head as she sprinted to Arlong Park. When she reached the park she burst into the complex, "Arlong!"

"What's wrong, my talented little cartographer?" Arlong asked, relaxed, "Your face seems rather flushed."

"The marines you've got working for you just came to steal my money!" Nami was livid as she grabbed Arlong's collar, "What's the meaning of this!? Didn't you say you'd rather die than break a promise involving money!"

"Hm? But I did keep that promise, didn't I?" Arlong asked, "When did I ever break it?"

"Don't play dumb with me!" Nami screamed at the fishman, "You ordered those marines to steal m-" Before she could continue speaking Arlong's hand held her up by the mouth.

"When exactly did I ever break our promise?" The fishman asked threateningly, "Please, tell me!" Nami had tears running down her eyes, "Shahahaha!" The same laugh that plagued her childhood came out now as Arlong and the other fishmen laughed at Nami's misfortune.

' _Curse you!_ ' Nami cried in her head.

"Shahaha!" Arlong laughed, "The marines stole your money!? That's quite unfortunate of you. But a promise is a promise. If you can't pay me 100 million beli I can't return your village back to you."

"You vile monster!" Nami shouted at him.

"But you know, it's only 100 million beli!" Arlong laughed, "All you need to do is save up that much again! You're not going to run away are you? Just keep in mind that if you do I'll have everyone in Cocoyashi Village killed because of you," Nami, with tears in her eyes, slapped Arlong's hand away and ran out of the park, "Hm? What's wrong Nami? Are you going to run away? Shahaha!"

 _'Gen! Everyone! Please! Please don't be rash!'_ Nami begged to herself as she ran back to Cocoyashi Village, _'You can't die... because that'll be the end of everything! We have to live on no matter what! Otherwise it'll all be over!"_

"That does it!" Genzo announced in the village centre with the rest of the villagers crowded around him, "Arm yourselves, it's time to fight!"

"Uooooohhh!" The villagers geared up for battle.

"Eight years ago we swore to throw our lives away!" Genzo exclaimed, "No matter how painful it may be living under their rule, we swore that as long as Nami was fine we would limit ourselves to a fight of endurance! But this is how they answered us! Now that our only chance of liberation has been denied there is no longer any hope for this island! But we shall never forgive those fishmen who dare to toy around with the kindness of that girl! Any objections?" The villagers cheered back.

"Of course not! Now let's go!"

"As if we'd accept their rule now that things have come to this!"

"Everyone in the whole village has always been prepared to fight!"

"Let's do this!"

"Wait, everyone!" Nami called out to everyone.

"Nami!" Nojiko exclaimed.

"Please just wait a little more!" Nami asked in a cheerful attitude, "I'll try my best again so please! I promise I'll raise enough money once more! It'll actually be easier this time!"

"That's enough!" Genzo embraced Nami in a strong, fatherly hug, "You know that doing such a thing would be futile. You've carried all our hope alone for long enough. You've fought splendidly! I know that working with them must've been more painful than a thousand searing knives. You've fought well."

"Gen..." Nami mumbled into his shoulder.

"You can now leave this village." Genzo held her by her shoulders.

"What!?" Nami questioned, "B-"

"Nami," Nojiko tapped her on the shoulder, "you're cunning and you've got what it takes to survive out there! Besides, you've got a dream to fulfil!"

"No! Please stop everyone!" Nami cried, "I don't want to see them hurt any one of you again! You'll die, you know!?" Nami held out her knife at Genzo in an attempt to get them to stop.

"We know," Genzo grabbed hold of the knife, blood dripping from his hand, "it's no use. Our hearts are set! Now move out of our way, Nami!" Nami was shocked as the villagers rushed past her, "Let's go everyone! Even if we may not win, let's show them our spirit!" Nami fell to her knees holding her Arlong Pirates tattoo, still hearing Arlong's laughter in her head.

"Arlong!" Nami wept as she picked up her knife and started stabbing her tattoo, "Arlong!" She chanted as she continued stabbing her shoulder, "Arlong! Arlong!" With every scream she stabbed herself once more, "Arlong!" She felt a hand wrap around her fingers, preventing her from harming herself once more. Nami turned around to see Luffy holding her hand, "Luffy! What is it!? You don't even know the first thing about anything!"

"Nope," Luffy confirmed, "I don't know anything."

"This has nothing to do with you!" Nami yelled, "Didn't I already tell you to leave this island!?"

"Yeah, you did." Luffy replied. Nami held her hand up to her mouth.

"Luffy," Nami turned up to the pirate captain, "help me..." she couldn't hide the tears anymore as they rolled down her cheeks. Luffy then grabbed his straw hat and then placed it on Nami's head.

"Of course I will!" Luffy exclaimed to the sky.

"Luffy..." Nami cried to herself as she saw Luffy walk towards his crew, all of whom had come to the village.

"Let's go." Luffy commanded.

"Roger!" They all answered as they stood up and followed their captain. Nami cried as she saw these people, whom she had betrayed, continue to fight for her.

Arlong Park

The villagers crowded around the park, but they were being prevented from entering by Johnny and Yosaku sitting in front of the gate.

"Move." Luffy ordered all the villagers and they felt inclined to move.

"Brother Luffy!" Yosaku cried in joy as him and his bounty hunting partner jumped out of the way. Luffy stood right in front of the gate and punched it down, surprising all the fishmen inside.

"Who's the one called Arlong?" Luffy asked as he held his fist.

"Arlong? That would be my name." Arlong replied.

"I'm Luffy." stated the pirate captain.

"Luffy? I see... and just what the hell are you?" asked Arlong.

"A pirate." Luffy answered.

"Hey you stop," Two of the fishmen stepped in front of Luffy, "heh heh, where d'ya think you're going? We can't have you go through without talking to us first." Luffy grabbed both of their skulls and smashed them together.

"Move it!" Luffy demanded as the fishmen fell to the ground, alarming Arlong and the other fishmen.

"What does a pirate want with me?" Arlong asked. Luffy walked up to Arlong and cocked his fist back and punched the fishman right in the jaw, sending him into the concrete fence of the park.

"Aghhhh! Arlong!?" The fishmen cried. They had never seen their leader hit like that before.

"Just what the hell..." Arlong mumbled to himself as he lifted his head up at his opponent.

"Don't you dare make my navigator cry!" Luffy threatened.

"Why you!" The fishmen launched themselves at the man who just punched Arlong, "How dare you!"

"Small fries can get the hell back!" Sanji yelled as he, Zoro and Naruto punched, kicked, and sliced the attacking fishmen, "Jeez, running in head-first alone like that."

"Don't worry, I ain't gonna lose!" Luffy reassured his cook.

"Dumbass! When did I ever say I was worried for you!?" Sanji retorted, "I only meant that you shouldn't hog all the glory for yourself."

"Oh." Luffy realised.

"I d-don't particularly mind either w-w-way, Luffy." Usopp tried to say properly.

"Ain't you gutsy?" Zoro stated sarcastically.

"I wonder if the cow's here." Naruto asked himself.

"Roronoa Zoro!" Kuroobi exclaimed.

"That's him! The one who tricked me!" Hatchan proclaimed, "How dare he take me for a ride... no, wait. I was the one who actually gave him a ride!"

"That long-nosed human is still alive!" The fishmen shouted, "He should've been dead!"

"Pirates, huh..." Arlong mumbled, "I see... so that's how you're all related."

"Hey! Just who exactly are those guys!?" The villagers asked the bounty hunting duo as they continue to block the entrance to the park, "To be able to send Arlong's gigantic body flying back with a punch! That's not something a normal human could do!"

"Those guys!" Nojiko exclaimed.

"If even those guys can't do anything about these fishmen, then the East Blue has no future!" Johnny proclaimed.

"If you still wish to interfere with this, then you'll have to kill us first!" Yosaku stated.

"For what reason do you two go so far?" Genzo asked.

"Because they made sister Nami cry." Johnny answered.

"Is this not the best reason to risk our lives?" Yosaku asked back.

"So your goal from the very beginning was only to get Nami, is that it?" Arlong asked as he laid in the rubble, "Shahaha! Just would could five measly humans do!?"

"You idiots!" Hatchan yelled, "As if Arlong would fight the likes of you! I'll turn you all into fish food! Come out, beast!" The octopus fishman grabbed his horn-like mouth and blew.

"Wha... it can't be!" The villagers cried.

"W-w-w-what's going on!?" Usopp cried out.

"Could it be!?" The villagers continue to yell, "The monster from the Grand Line that destroyed Gosa!?"

"Come out, Mohmoo!" Hatchan announced as the giant cow sea monster rose from the water. However, it looked very damaged and scared.

"Aghhh, it's the monster!" Usopp yelled.

"Huh?" Hatchan squinted his eyes at the beast.

"That's the sea cow, Mohmoo!" The villagers shouted out.

"Oh him?" Luffy looked up at the sea monster.

"So he's one of them, huh." Sanji noticed.

"Moo..." Mohmoo moaned as it swam away from the fight.

"Mohmoo, wait!" Hatchan yelled, "Where're you going!?"

"Mohmoo," Arlong called darkly, "the hell do you think you're doing," the sea monster stopped in its tracks due to fear, "well, if you are going to run away, I ain't gonna try to stop you but don't expect to get very far... well, Mohmoo?"

"Mooooo!" The monster had a complete change of heart as if raced towards the crew.

"It's coming for us!" Usopp cried.

"Alright, follow Mohmoo's lead!" The fishmen exclaimed as they rushed at the pirates, "Let's show these inferior humans not to mess with us!"

"I've got it." Naruto told them as he stepped in front of them.

"The hell's he doing?" Sanji asked.

"I don't know." Zoro replied.

"Moooo!" The sea monster cried. Naruto closed both his eyes and then reopened them, revealing red, slit eyes, reminiscent to that of a fox.

" **Akuma no Yoru**." Naruto stared into the eyes of the sea monster, not moving a muscle.

"What are you doing!?" The villagers cried, worried about the young boy, that was, before the sea monster and all of the fishmen stopped in their tracks.

"What the hell?" Arlong questioned.

"Arghhhh!" The fishmen started crying out as they started running around like chicken's with their heads chopped off, "Arlong! Help me! Arghhh!"

"What's wrong brothers!?" Arlong shouted.

"It's the devil!" The fishmen pointed towards Naruto, "A bloody red devil!"

"Moooo!" Mohmoo cried as it swam as fast as it could out of the park and as far away as it could.

"Mohmoo!?" Hatchan yelled.

"Ughhh." The fishmen groaned before they fell to the ground, unconscious.

"What's going on!?" Kuroobi questioned.

"What the fuck did you do!?" Arlong shouted towards Naruto angrily. Naruto turned to look at the fishman before turning back and walking back to Luffy, "Hey! I'm talking to you!"

"I'm not the one that's going to fight you," Naruto said plainly, before pointing his thumb at Luffy, "he is."

"Yo!" The rubber man raised his hand, "I don't want to have to fight all the small fries! The one I want to fight is you!"

"How excellent," Arlong grinned ominously, "I was thinking of killing you myself just now as well."

"Seems like we have no choice but to fight." Kuroobi muttered.

"How dare you hurt our brethren!" Hatchan screamed.

"Looks like we need to teach these humans the difference between our races, chu." Chew flexed his muscles.

"Looks like the main force is out to meet us." Zoro grinned.

"I'm getting all tingly." Sanji sarcastically stated.

"Y-y-yeah!" Usopp's legs were shaking.

"Wait, there's five of us and four of them," Naruto noticed, "who's going to step out of a fight."

"I'll do it!" Usopp answered enthusiastically, "I mean, I hate to do it, you know me, but, being the nice guy I am, I'll step out of a fight, just this once!"

"No, you're definitely going to fight." Naruto replied.

"I'm fighting." Sanji and Zoro said in unison, leaving Naruto without a choice.

"Fine, I'll sit out, I'll just watch." Naruto sighed as he walked over to the brick fence near the villagers.

"What did he just do?" The villagers all questioned as Naruto jumped onto the fence and sat down, "To think that there would actually be humans who can handle fishmen... is this really a battle of our world!?"

' _That kid._ ' Nojiko thought to herself as she stared at Naruto.

"If this was how things were going to turn out, we should have fought from the beginning," Kuroobi pointed out, "Arlong, please just sit right there."

"If we let you fight while that much enraged, chu, all of Arlong Park will end up destroyed." Chew added.

"Take this! **Shikai Zero...** " Hatchan started.

"That octopus is doing something." Zoro noticed.

"First boil the octopus in salt water, slice it up, and add some olive oil and paprika to make an excellent side dish while drinking." Sanji noted.

"He looks weird." Luffy stated.

" **Tako-Hachi Black!** " Hatchan yelled as he spurted out ink from his mouth. Everyone dodged the attack, except for Luffy who stood there and took it.

"Octopus ink!?" Sanji exclaimed.

"Aghhh!" Luffy shouted.

"You dumbass!" Zoro yelled at his captain, "Why didn't you dodge that!?"

"I didn't think it would blind me! No one told me that!" Luffy retorted, "By the way, I can't see."

"What." Sanji deadpanned.

"For god's sake." Zoro facepalmed.

"Luffy look out!" Usopp warned as he saw Hatchan rip off a piece of the building and raised it in the air.

" **Tako-Hachi Black on The...** " Hatchan announced as he threw down the large piece of Arlong Park on Luffy's head, " **Rock!** " However the attack never reached the rubber man as Sanji, with his powerful legs, smashed apart the pieces of the park.

"Agh, jeez," Sanji sighed, "looks like I've chosen to follow a dumbass for my captain."

"My feelings exactly." Zoro agreed with the cook for once.

"Nice one, Sanji!" Luffy encouraged him on, happy at his decision to recruit him.

"He's amazing!" Usopp cheered.

"But it's still a hundred times better than being in a pirate crew that would harm a lady." Sanji stated with his hands in his pockets.

"For a human you're not half-bad," Kuroobi stated, "but, a pirate going around spouting chivalrous lines? How half-assed."

"Heh," Sanji smirked, "would you like to test just how half-assed my chivalry really is, Mr. Fish? Despite what you may think, I've spent half my life as a pirate."

"It seems that you fools don't understand the level that we fishmen are on." Kuroobi replied.

"Hey Usopp." Luffy got his snipers attention.

"Yeah." Usopp replied.

"I can't see," Luffy put his hand on the back of his head, "can you wipe the ink from my face?"

"Why can't you do it yourself?" Usopp asked.

"Well, it's on my hands, so if I wipe with my own hands then it'll just get more ink in my eyes!" Luffy reasoned.

"Huh, fine." Usopp sighed as he walked over to Luffy.

"You think you can just hoarse around inside Arlong Park!" Hatchan shouted at the two, "I'll kill you all!" He lifted a piece of stone out of the groun.

"Aghhh!" Usopp squealed.

"Hurry up and wipe my face!" Luffy shouted.

"Hahahahaha!" Naruto laughed from the fence, surprising both Johnny and Yosaku.

"Did Brother Naruto just... laugh?" Johnny asked Yosaku.

"Y-yeah, I think so," Yosaku stated, "I haven't seen that in a while."

"Hey octopus, those guys're busy right now," Zoro told Hatchan, "why don't you fight with me instead?"

"Nyu!" Hatchan roared, "Roronoa Zoro! That's right, I forgot! How dare you deceive me before!" The fishman attempted to smack Zoro into the ground with his large arms

"Whoa!" Zoro called as he dodged the attack.

"Not only that, you cut down my brethren!" Hatchan reminded.

"I don't care about ancient history," Zoro unsheathed his single blade, "it doesn't matter for what reason you want to kill me... the situation's different now. You guys aren't going to be doing the killing. It's us that's going to be killing you!"

"G-good, Zoro," Usopp sighed as he wiped most of the ink from Luffy's face, "I'll let you deal with that octopus. Nice work. I'm just gonna go sit with Naruto."

"No, you're not, chu." Chew said as he started walking up to Usopp.

"Aghhh!" Usopp cried once more as he ran as fast as he could out of the park with the thick-lipped fishman following him.

"Brother Usopp!" Yosaku shouted as Usopp sprinted past him.

"That's the guy who save Gen back at our village," The people of Cocoyashi VIllage noted, "he's a pirate too?"

"Oh, it's you hooligans from before. You were still here?" Chew said to Johnny and Yosaku before he looked at the villagers, "Chu, oh? Looks like all the Cocoyashi Villagers are here too. Seeing as how you're all carrying weapons I take it that you're all rebelling. Which means you'll all b-"

" **Flame Star!** " Usopp cried as he flung his attack at the fishman through his slingshot, setting him on fire.

"Brother Usopp!" Johnny voiced.

"Aghh!" Chew groaned in pain.

"Don't forget! Your opponent is me!" Usopp reminded.

"Fine, since you want to be killed so badly, allow me to make it quick!" Chew yelled as he continue his pursuit of Usopp.

"Aghhhh!" The long-nosed pirate cried once more before he ran away once more.

"W-what's with that youngster?" Genzo asked.

"Acting tough then running away... what a strange man." The village doctor commented.

"Aren't you going to help your friend?" Genzo asked Naruto who completely ignored Chew as if he wasn't even there.

"Nope." Naruto replied.

"Why not? He needs help!" Genzo told him.

"No he doesn't," Naruto stated confidently, "now shut up, the good part's nearly here."

"Arlong, I've already asked you not to fight." Kuroobi told his leader.

"I ain't gonna fight but..." Arlong stood up and started walking over to Luffy, who could still barely see.

"I'm gonna kick your ass!" Luffy exclaimed as he threw his fist back and sent it straight for Arlong's head.

 _'An Akuma no Mi?'_ Arlong thought before he easily dodged the attack by moving his head to the left and grabbed his fist, "Do you seriously think you can win against us?"

"And what if we do?" Sanji asked confidently.

"You bet I think so, you idiot!" Luffy shouted, "Now let go of my hand!"

"Seems like he has something to say." Zoro smirked.

"Why don't we play this game?" Arlong lifted Luffy up easily, "Akuma no Mi users are said to be unable to swim."

"Don't tell me he's gonna throw him into the sea!?" Zoro shouted.

"Ngh **Gomu Gomu no...** " Luffy pulled his fist back, " **Pistol!** " even though Luffy landed a square punch right in Arlong's mouth, the fishman just chomped down on it like it was food, "Gahhhhhhh!"

"Fool." Arlong smirked as he threw Luffy towards the sea.

"I knew he was a fishman but I didn't know he had the intelligence of a fish." Naruto muttered to himself as watched the battle. As Luffy was being hurled towards the sea he just stretched out an arm to the chair that Arlong sat on.

" **Gomu Gomu no...** " Arlong raised an eyebrow, " **Rocket!** " Luffy launched himself at Arlong at such a speed that not even he could react and smashed right into Arlong, sending him flying into the building. It was the second time that Luffy had done that to his enemy.

"Arlong!" Hatchan cried as he ran over to boss, that was, before Zoro slashed at the octopus fishman, to which he narrowly dodged.

"Don't get distracted." Zoro grinned.

"Yeah!" Sanji agreed as he had another puff on his cigarette.

"Ah, one of these games, huh." Kuroobi stated with his arms crossed.

"Don't think your head and eight limbs will still be in one piece after I'm through with you, octopus!" Zoro warned.

"Ahahaha! What a fun game this'll be!" Hatchan laughed.

"Rotten fish bastards!" Sanji shouted.

"Hmph, no need to get so worked up," Kuroobi chided, "even if things hadn't turned out this way, your chances of survival would still be zero."

"Arghh! Get off me human scum!" Arlong shouted from the rubble as he threw Luffy across to the entrance of the park. When he got out he wiped some blood from his mouth, "I can't believe that he's done this to me twice."

"Having fun, Luffy?" Naruto asked his captain.

"He's definitely stronger than Krieg and Buggy, that's for sure." Luffy answered as he stood back up.

"Don Krieg and Buggy the Clown?" Nojiko asked, "Aren't they the biggest pirates in the East Blue along with Arlong?"

"Apparently," Luffy answered, "we beat 'em up before we came here."

 _'These guys are insane.'_ Nojiko thought to herself, still amazed that they were able to last this long.

"I'll end this in five seconds!" Zoro proclaimed as he rushed at his opponent.

" **Tako-Hachi Black!** " as Hatchan was firing his attack Zoro managed to jumped out of the way and continue his course for the octopus fishman. He slashed his sword at Hatchan, however he was quick enough and ducked before the attack could hit him so that he only cut his hair instead of his body, "Nyu!"

"Hmph." Zoro landed, disappointed at the damage he had done.

"Nyuuuu! My hair!" Hatchan cried, "Why you! But... I'll forgive you since it's only hair! The important thing is I'm still alive!"

"Oh is that so? Thanks." Zoro sarcastically thanked the fishman.

 _'That guy...'_ thought Sanji, remembering his fight with Mihawk.

"Your life will be cut short if you look somewhere else!" Kuroobi shouted as he attempted to hit the cook with his fins on his elbows.

"Ahh!" Sanji was barely able to dodge, "Cut short!? A damn fish shouldn't be going against a cook!" Sanji landed a strong kick, however, it was blocked well by the fin of Kuroobi's left elbow.

"Did you know, Roronoa Zoro? That I'm quite strong against swordsmen!?" Hatchan proclaimed, "Do you understand what I mean?"

"Like hell I do!" Zoro shouted back as he held his sword up, preparing to strike downwards.

" **Tako San Ren Shin Ken Shira Ha Dori!** " Hatchan attempted to catch the sword, unfortunately for him, he failed miserably and got cut all along his body, "Owwww!"

"I don't have time to play around with you!" Zoro yelled, "This is getting ridiculous. Go to hell already! You octopus bastard!"

" **Tako Hachi...** " The fishman pointed nine fingers at himself, " **Number Nine.** " As Zoro tried to slash at Hatchan he ended up cutting only the air. He looked up to see that he was up against one of the colonnades, sticking to it with his suction cups.

"The hell do you think you're playing at! Get your ass down this instant!" Zoro demanded, "You trying to buy time or something!?"

"I've heard you use three swords. So why are you only using one!?" Hatchan asked from above.

"That's because using one sword is still more than enough to beat you!" Zoro retorted.

"Shut up! I haven't fought seriously yet!" Hatchan yelled back, "There's a clear reason why human swordsmen can never hope to beat me. And the reason why humans can't beat me is," Before the fishman could finish boasting Zoro fell to the ground, "Nyu!?"

"What!?" Sanji cried.

"Hm?" Arlong wondered what caused Zoro to fall over.

"Just as I thought... the wounds he received from Hawkeyes still haven't healed!" Sanji reasoned.

"Brother!?" The bounty hunting duo exclaimed.

"This is my chance!" Hatchan announced as he started punching the colonnade he was sticking to, " **Takoyaki Punch!** " He then jumped down next to Zoro, as the colonnade and much of what it held up was about to fall down, "Meet you doom as you get crushed! Roronoa Zoro!" But before the debris could fall on Zoro, the ex pirate hunter grabbed Hatchan by the head and threw him into the line of fire, causing the colonnade and what it held up to fall on the octopus fishman, "Aghhhhh!"

"Why don't you get crushed instead?" Zoro asked before he fell to the floor yet again, "Damn it... of all the times, why now!"

"His wounds are just too deep!" Yosaku yelled, "They haven't healed over yet!"

"Obviously! It's a wound that would disable a man for at least half a year, if not kill him!" Johnny reasoned, "Was he enduring the pain all this time!?"

"I knew something was up when he acted normal even after receiving those wounds!" Sanji stated, "That moron! Eiii!" Before Sanji could turn back to his fight with the ray fishman he was struck by a powerful punch that sent him right through the brick fence of Arlong Park and onto the gravel road outside.

"I warned you before not to look somewhere else!" Kuroobi reminded, "I'm a 40th level fishman-karate practitioner!" Sanji laid on the road.

"What? Did a human just fly past us!?" The villagers questioned.

"B-Brother Cook!?" Johnny and Yosaku cried, "Brother Cook!?"

"They've been taken care of, Arlong," Kuroobi informed his boss, "what should we do with Roronoa Zoro?"

"Just throw him into the sea once I'm finished with this bastard," Arlong looked towards Luffy, who had finally wiped away all the ink from his face completely, "couldn't even put up a fight... how boring. Hey Hachi! Wake up! How long are you going to be sleeping!?"

"Nyyyyyuuuuuu!" Hatchan voiced as he rose out of the rubble, "You've really pissed me off! I'm going to butcher you! Did you know that aside from one man, I, Hachi of the six swords style, am the number one swordsman in Fishman Island!? Even if the heavens were to be flipped over, you would have no chance of beating me! Nyu?"

"Who're you trying to fight, Hachi?" Kuroobi asked when he saw the octopus fishman facing the wrong direction.

"Six sword style? Don't make me laugh. Just what's so great about that!?" Zoro taunted as he rose, holding onto his sword, "Let me tell you something, you little octopus! I've got a man I have to meet no matter what... and until I meet him... not even the Grim Reaper can take me away! Yosaku! Johnny! Lend me your swords!"

"You got it!" The pirate hunters held their swords out towards Zoro.

"Allow me to show you my three sword style." Zoro smirked.

"I'll kill you, Roronoa Zoro!" Hatchan shouted.

"He was alive?" Kuroobi questioned. Outside the park, Sanji lit a cigarette and rose to his feet once more.

"Hmph..." Sanji smirked, "if that was a 40th level punch just now then the kicks I received from that old geezer all the time were about level 400."

"Brother's in critical condition!" Yosaku commented, "With those wounds and that fever, he should be barely hanging onto consciousness."

"If his wounds reopen, he'll die for sure." Johnny noted.

"But now's not the time to be worrying about that." Yosaku reminded them both.

"The only one who can cut through this crisis is brother!" Johnny cheered.

"What's the matter Rorona Zoro?" Hatchan asked, "You already look so exhausted."

"That's none of your concerns." Zoro took his bandana from his left bicep and retied it on his head.

"Brother, catch!" The pirate hunters yelled as they threw their swords.

' _Damn it... I feel like I'm going to pass out any moment now,'_ thought Zoro, ' _I thought moving around a bit might lower my fever but it's only gotten worse!'_

"B-Brother! We already threw our swords!" Johnny and Yosaku cried, "Didn't you ask for our swords!? Catch them!"

"I'll show you the vast gap in skill that's unsurpassable for a human with only two arms!" Hatchan gritted his teeth, "The six swords style that can only be used by having six arms and a supple body."

"Brother, watch out!" The duo cried.

" **Tako-Ashi Kiken!** " Hatchan exclaimed as he flung around all of his six swords. Just before the two swords hit Zoro, he ducked and grabbed them mid-air, at the same time dodging the attack.

" **Santoryu...** " Zoro began as he readied his blades.

"Nyuuu!" Hatchan shouted as he prepared to attack once again, "I'd like to see you try to take on my barrage with only three swords!" The fishman was attempting to stab at the swordsman, however, Zoro was twisting his body around enabling him to dodge the attacks as he continued to approach the fishman. Once he got close enough, with his third sword, he cut through Hatchan's stomach.

" **Toro Nagashi!** " Zoro exclaimed as he landed once again.

"Nyuuuu!" Blood spurted out of Hatchan's stomach and chest as he cried out in pain.

"He got by!" Johnny and Yosaku cheered, "To be able to block all six blades coming from every direction! He's amazing!"

"Yeah, Zoro!" Luffy cheered.

"You've really made me mad now!" Hatchan shrieked, "I swear I'll kill you! Just think about it, logically! There's no way you could beat my six swords when you only have three!"

"Logically?" Zoro questioned his logic, "Seems like you've made a big error in your calculation. I may only have three swords, but the weight of our swords are completely different!"

"The weight? You mean to say that your swords are heavier than mine!? Don't be stupid!" Hatchan mistook what Zoro meant by 'weight', "You may not realise it just by looking at them, but each of my swords weigh 300 kilograms! They're far heavier than any swords that you puny humans use!"

"Hmph, I have nothing to say to an idiot like you." Zoro told him as he attacked the octopus fishman.

" **Rokutoryu Takotsubo no Kamae...** " The fishman pointed all his swords together out in front of him with their back edges all pointed to each other and arranged in a circular array over his chest to block the attack, "take this! **Shin Shun - Tako Age...** " he splayed his swords apart, therefore breaking away Zoro's weapons leaving him defenceless, " **Taikai!** " he then head butted the wounded swordsman right where his wounds were, causing blood to spill down his nose.

"Oh no! He took a full hit to his wounds!" Yosaku shrieked, "Our bro's going to die!" Hatchan flung Zoro up into the air.

"I won't give you a safe landing!" Hatchan warned, " **Rokutoryu Ogi: Rokuto no Waltz!** " He started to spin all six swords over his head like a fan blade, intend on shredding the descending Zoro to pieces, "Touch it and you'll be mincemeat! Time to dice you up!" As Zoro fell into the swords there was a bloodcurdling scream.

"Zoro!" Luffy cried out.

"Huh!?" Everyone was expected Zoro to come out dead, but instead, it was Hatchan who fell to the floor in pain.

"Arghhh!" He yelled in pain as he was flung across the floor.

"Wha!? What just happened!?" Johnny yelled, "Hey, Yosaku... do you think brother's wounds might have reopened from that earlier attack!?"

"That bastard spun himself on top of my swords!" Hatchan realised, "And even ended up cutting my hands! I ain't no circus performer! I really really really can't forgive you anymore! It's time to finish you off!" Zoro panted very heavily.

"He looks like he's hurting real bad!" Yosaku noticed, "If it were possible, I wish we could switch places right now!"

' _Even if these wounds are normally enough to make me faint,'_ thought Zoro, _'I can't afford to pass out now.'_

 _"_ **Rokutoryu Takotsubo no Kamae!** " Hatchan once again pointed all his blades together out in front of him as he charged at Zoro, "Time to die!"

 _'Even if these wounds are normally enough to kill me,'_ thought Zoro, _'I can't afford to die.'_

"This technique is one hundred percent unavoidable! Just like my attack before!" Hatchan proclaimed.

' _In order to beat that abnormally strong Hawkeyes I can't afford to be normal either!'_ thought Zoro as he crossed his two swords across his chest so that the blade placed in his mouth was horizontally behind them, " **Oni...** "

" **Shin Shun!** " Hatchan chanted as he struck the three blades.

" **Giri!** " Zoro slashed back though causing all of Hatchan's swords to break simultaneously, "Now do you understand the difference in the weight of our swords? I hope you're satisfied, octopus!" Zoro held two of his swords by his side with one still remaining in his mouth, " **Tatsu...** "

"Nyu! **Takoyaki Punch!** " Hachtan called as he started rapidly punching at Zoro.

" **Maki!** " Zoro started spinning his swords to create a dragon-like tornado which both slashed and blew Hatchan up into the air.

"H-how could I lose... to only three swords..." Hatchan wondered to himself as he fell back down to earth.

"Hachi." Arlong started to sweat.

"It can't be..." Kuroobi stated in disbelief.

"Sorry but I couldn't care less about you," Zoro sheathed his swords as the octopus fishman crashed into the ground, "or your six sword style crap."

"Yeah bro!" Yosaku and Johnny cheered.

"So cool!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Good job." Naruto told him, but he doubted he could hear. Zoro dropped his swords as he sat down, panting heavily.

"Roronoa Zoro!" Kuroobi announced as he stood over the downed swordsman with his fist cocked back, "How dare you cut down Ha-"

"Ha!" Before the ray fishman could kill Zoro, Sanji interrupted with a strong kick which Kuroobi blocked with his left fin, "You sure did punch me back pretty far."

"Brother Cook." Johnny murmured.

"There's actually a human in the East Blue that can live after taking one of my punches?" Kuroobi questioned.

"I'm sure there're more than just me," Sanji grinned, "especially at a certain restaurant."

"It seems I'm being underestimated." Kuroobi stated with his arms crossed.

"No, it's just that I know what I'm up against," Sanji had another puff on his cigarette before he threw it at the fishman, "you're a fish and I'm a cook."

"You're making a massive mistake!" Kuroobi warned. Sanji turned to Zoro.

"Hey, you should probably get outta here." Sanji warned.

"I would if I could." Zoro said as he took his bandanna off of his head and placed it again on his bicep.

"Your fault if you die in the crossfire." Sanji told him.

"Whatever." Zoro scoffed.

" **Hyakumaigawara Seiken!** " Kuroobi voiced as he tried to punch Sanji with yet another powerful fishman-karate technique, however he was able move out of the way in the nick of time, "Don't turn your back on me!"

"Yeah, yeah," Sanji responded as he turned around, hands in pockets, ready for a fight, " **Tendron!** " He sent a straight kick to the middle of the fishman's collarbone, sending him back a few meters. However, he wasn't finished there. Sanji front flipped over to the big ray fishman and landed on his hands underneath Kuroobi's chin. He used both hands to spring upwards, delivering a powerful blow to the opponent's chin, " **Bouquetière Shot!** " Kuroobi was sent flying upwards before he came crashing down, "Aren't fishmen meant to be strong?" Sanji taunted.

"Kuhahahaha!" He could hear the laughter of Kuroobi as he stood back up, seemingly unharmed, "You think that's strong!? I'll show you strength! **Hyakumaigawara Seiken!** "

"That again!" Sanji stated as he brought his leg up, " **Jarret!** " Before the punch collided with his body he kicked it hard, sending both of them flying backwards.

' _That fishman seems to have the advantage._ ' Naruto thought to himself.

"This is funny." Sanji laughed to himself.

"What's so funny?" The ray fishman asked.

"How weak you are," Sanji taunted his opponent, "it's just that given how big you talked yourself up, I expected you to be much stronger," he could see the anger building in Kuroobi's eyes, "getting angry I see."

"I will end you!" Kuroobi shouted as he rushed at Sanji. Before the fishman met the blonde cook, Sanji noticed the gills that were on the fishmans shoulders. He pulled his fist back and punched at where Sanji was standing, but he was able to jump over him immediately.

' _Gills, eh?'_ Sanji thought, ' _I don't think I'm gonna be able to beat him on land cause whenever I kick he seems to be able to block it all the time and his punches are wearing me out. Maybe..._ '

"Hey," the cook said as he took off his double-breasted shirt, tie and his shoes and socks, "come and get me little fish." He taunted as he dove into the water.

"You dumbass!" Zoro shouted, "Why'd you do that!?"

 _'What the fuck is he doing!?'_ Naruto thought to himself as he prepared himself to jump in, _'Surely he should know that fishmen are stronger underwater!?'_

"Don't worry Naruto," Luffy calmed him down, "Sanji know's what he's doing." Naruto stared at him for a while, before he sat back down, trusting his captain.

"Kuhahahaha!" Kuroobi laughed, "How interesting! A human dares challenge me to an underwater battle!?"

"Shahahahaha! It's time for you humans to know your place!" Arlong laughed, "How stupid could he be!" Sanji was swimming around underwater, wondering if his plan would pay off.

 _'If this works it'll be amazing,'_ Sanji thought as he held his breath, _'but if it doesn't I'm surely gonna die. I don't know how long I can hold my breath for._ '

" **Wanto Giri!** " He heard the fishman shout as he felt his fin smash into the back of his neck.

"Garghh!" Sanji gargled in pain.

"You seriously wish to fight me underwater!?" Kuriboo questioned, "Even though as an inferior human, you're already at your limit just by trying to hold your breath! So be it! **Itomaki Kumite!** " The fishman wrapped his ponytail around Sanji's waist to prevent him from escaping. Sanji tried to evade the attack by kicking his chin, but, due to being the water, his speed was heavily reduced, "Hmph, how weak. Compared to your kicks on land, your power has been reduced by half. However, the same doesn't apply for fishman-karate. In fact, depending on the tecnique, its power is doubled! **Kaisoku: Harakudashigeri!** " The fishman darted forward at such a high speed and he used the momentum to deliver a savage side kick to Sanji's stomach. He started spinning rapidly and then hit Sanji's head with his powerful heel, " **Ka Ka Kakato Otashi!** " He then kicked Sanji's chin with his inner-sole, " **Kachiage Haisoku!** " He then prepared an open palm and then attacked the cook's chin, " **Jodan Bakusho!** " Sanji was sent to the bottom of the sea pit.

' _Guh! It hurts too much! I need air! Air!'_ Sanji begged in his head as he tried to swim to the surface. But he was stopped quickly by Kuriboo.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asked in a superior manner.

' _Damn it! Just let me get by! I need to breathe!_ ' Sanji screamed to himself.

"To think you could survive my attacks," Kuriboo stated, "it's hard to believe you're merely human. But behold this is the extent of your chivalry! Try to escape as you will, but this game will end with your death. And once this game ends, I'll kill all those villagers. Then Arlong's going to kill that stretchy boy, Chew's probably already killed off that long-nosed pirate, then I'm gonna kill Roronoa Zoro and that blonde haired kid! And of course, we won't let Nami get off scott-free after betraying our trust. Do you understand? Despite all your lip-service that you've given me and the arrogance you've shown, you cannot even defeat one person! You'll never last on the Grand Line! You're pathetic! How powerless you humans are you can't even handle a sudden change in water pressure!" Kuriboo grabbed Sanji by the shoulders, "In other words, if I were to drag you down to the ocean floor in an instant your inner organs will burst open! **Appakushi Chokka Koro!** " He then swam extremely fast to the sea floor while holding Sanji.

' _I swear I won't let him win!'_ Sanji thought to himself, ' _He thinks that I can't even defeat one person!?'_

"Kuhahahaha!" Kuriboo laughed as he stopped swimming just above the sea floor.

"Blurgh!" Sanji tried to prevent the blood spurting out of his mouth with his hands, but he couldn't stop it flowing. Above the sea everyone was waiting for either Sanji or the fishman to come out.

"Brother Cook's not coming up..." Johnny stated, afraid that he could've died.

"Luffy, I'm telling you, please let me help him!" Naruto begged his captain.

"How?" Luffy asked, "You'd sink."

"I know that b-" Naruto tried to start.

"No. Sanji's gonna win." Luffy concluded. Beneath the surface on the sea floor, Sanji pointed upwards towards the surface.

"This man still won't die!?" The ray fishman shouted, "Fine, I shall do it once more!"

' _These fishmen...'_ thought Sanji as he got taken back up to the top, ' _on land, they breathe using lungs but underwater, they breathe using gills! Which would mean that they're nothing but talking fish!'_

"We're back up again," Kuriboo held him by the collar, "I wonder if you can handle a second ride?"

' _And if it's a fish we're talking about, all you have to do is block their gills and they'll die!'_ Sanji thought as he blew into the gills of the fishman, ' _If you're a fish, you should be feeling the same pain!'_

"Gubahhhh!" Yuriboo screamed in extreme pain, allowing Sanji to escape his grasp and jump onto the surface, taking in as much air as he could.

"Buhaaa!" He cried as he rose from the water.

"Hm?" Arlong believed that Kuriboo would definitely come up out of the water, carrying a dead Sanji.

"Thank god." Naruto sighed as he became a lot more settled.

"Hey!" Zoro shouted at the panting cook, "You're an idiot! Why'd you do that!?"

"I... thought... I could beat him underwater," Sanji reasoned, "that didn't work out. Get the hell back up here, you damn fish! It's time I kill you!"

"You still don't understand?" The fishman asked as he rose from the water, "Whether underwater or on land, the basic difference in our strength remains unchanged. Not only that, you've invoked my wrath now," He then got into a traditional fighting stance, "I shall kill you with the essence of fishman-karate. Earlier on, I sent you flying with my 'Hyakumaigawara Seiken.' But your chances of surviving my ultimate technique 'Senmaigawara Seiken' is zero!"

" **Collier!** " Sanji voiced as he kicked directly in the neck, " **Epaule!** " He followed up with a downward kick at Kuriboo's shoulder, driving him into the ground, " **Côtelette!** " Sanji dropped down into a one-handed handstand position as he kicked the fishman hard in the ribs, " **Selle!** " Using the moment from the last attack, he span around in the opposite direction to deliver a fast kick to Kuriboo's lower back, " **Poitrine!** " He kicked the ray fishman straight at his chest, " **Gigot!** " Running at the fishman, Sanji delivered a sweeping kick to the knee caps.

"W-why you!" Kuriboo attempted to get up, "Take this! **Senmaigawara-** "

" **Mouton Shot!** " Sanji jumped into the air and then channeled all his might into his left leg to deliver a kick right at Kuriboo's midsection, sending him flying, "Don't you want any dessert?" The unconscious body of the fishman was sent straight into the building, narrowly missing Arlong who was growing more and more angry by the moment.

"Kuroobi... Hachi..." Arlong recounted his fallen brothers.

"Small fries will be small fries," Sanji explained, "looks like this game is ours for the taking."

"Yup!" Luffy announced as he jumped walked of his crewmembers to face Arlong, who began standing up, "Now I'm gonna beat you!"

"How dare you do this to my brethren..." Arlong muttered, "But you're getting too cocky if you think you've already won!"

Near Cocoyashi Village

Usopp laid dead on the road with blood splattered all over his body with Chew standing over him.

"Chu, that was more trouble than it was worth," He stated, "how the heck can he run away so fast! But that still wasn't enough to save you. A quick death from a single blast of my water gun. Well, time to head back. Hachi and Kuroobi should've taken care of those trash by now."

' _Whew, it worked! Thank God I made my special 'Ketchup Star' for cases like this!'_ Usopp thought to himself as the fishman walked away, thinking that he had killed his enemy, _'He thinks his water gun hit me just now! Heh he... now hurry up and go back! But what a terrifying race fishmen are... after all, they did flip an entire town... I do feel sorry for Nami, and I really do want to help her out but I'd rather not die if possible.'_

"B-b-but... I already have this ketchup blood on myself," Usopp said to himself, "I wish I had something more... more umm... more signs that I was in a fierce battle to the death! That's right! I should cover myself with some dirt. That'll make me seem more like I was in a fierce fight! But what should I say when I get back 'my bad but I ended up losing?' Or maybe 'damn it, that guy just barely got away from me!' 'don't cry Nami, it was only natural for us to try and fight,' 'we've all fought well.' 'It was a real close fight to the death,' 'no, no. My wounds are nothing to worry about!" He then started to remember things that the villagers and his crewmates had told him on his journey and how much bravery they showed.

" _Aren't we crewmates?"_

 _"I'd rather die."_

 _"It's still a hundred times better than being in a crew that would harm a lady!"_

"I'm going to fight you."

 _"For the sake of my business, this was the only way."_

 _"We've been waiting for you, brothers!"_

 _"Eight years ago we vowed to fight a fight of endurance!"_

 _"Let's fight!"_ Usopp stared at the ground for a couple of moments before he thought to himself, _'I'm so pathetic!'_ Suddenly, with a surge of courage coursing through him, he stood up.

"Stop right there you freakin' fish!" He yelled at Chew, who was walking away from the battle, still assuming the long-nosed pirate was dead.

"What, so you were still alive? Chu?" The fishman asked.

"As if a little attack from some half fish bastard could ever hit me!" Usopp shouted as he rasied his slingshot, _'From the moment I took one step outside my village, I should've thrown away all notions of 'peace' or 'safety'! Because they risk their lives and give it their all everyday!'_ He thought to himself, _'They can laugh from the bottom of their hearts like that! That's why I decided to go out to the seas as well! Because I want to be able to smile and laugh like they do! If I don't fight seriously right now I don't have the right to sail on the same ship as them! Nor do I have the right to laugh with them!' "_ **Certain Kill Flame Star!** " Usopp flung his fire attack towards the fishman, to which he easily ran through the flames.

"As if that'd work on me," Chew taunted before he punched Usopp into the ground, "would've been better if you had just pretended to be dead. But I guess you're too dumb for that, chu."

"It's... over." Usopp told the fishman.

"Damn right it's over!" Chew started kicking the sniper, "Over for you, that is!"

"Agh! Ugh!" Usopp cried out, "It's over!"

"Chu?" The fishman wondered as the pirate pulled out a hammer and struck his knee.

" **Usopp Hammer!** " The fallen sniper announced as Chew winced in pain, " **Usopp Rubber Band!** " He then flicked a rubber band at Chew's face and while his eyes were closed Usopp disappeared amongst the trees, "Goddamn it! How could I fall for such a stupid trick! Now he's gone and hid himself! That son of a bitch," He noticed a bottle rum being thrown at him, he caught it in mid-air, "Rum?"

" **Certain Kill Lead Star!** " Usopp shouted as he shot at the bottle, causing the rum to get all over his clothes.

"That inferior human and his idiotic stunts, chu!" The fishman bent over so his lips were against the water, "I don't know where you're hiding but I'll blast you out of your hiding spot with this field's water! Chu!"

"It doesn't matter if it's stupid or cowardly!" Usopp said to himself, "This fight isn't something that the man Usopp can just run away from! I'll die if I lose! I'm already a real pirate!" Chew had sucked up so much water that it had caused his body to expand like a balloon.

" **Mizu Taiho!** " Chew shouted as a giant water bubble exploded like a cannonball against the trees.

"Wha! So much power!" Usopp gawked, inadvertently revealing his position to the fishman

"Why the hell do I have to fight an idiot like him!?" Chew asked himself, "He reveals himself on his own! I'll pump you full of holes! **Hyappatsu Mizudeppo!** " Chew started firing many shots of water at Usopp at an extremely fast pace.

"Aghhh! How'd he know where I was!?" Usopp cried out as the water bullets shot down the trees around him, "Damn, damn, damn! I'll show you, my former Usopp Pirate Members! And Kaya! I've left for the seas and become a pirate! And so I'm going to fight! Because one day I'm really going to become a brave warrior of the seas! The carefree fun days I spent playing pirates are over!"

"What did you say was over?" Chew asked as he lifted up the trunk of the tree that Usopp was hiding behind.

"Our fight!" Usopp responded, "Did you know that alcohol is flammable!?"

"Hm?" Chew questioned.

" **Certain Kill Flame Star!** " Usopp fired his fire attack once again, except this time, due to the alcohol all over Chew's body, he couldn't put it out.

"Gyaaaa!" The fishman cried as he ran towards the water, "Water! Water! Chu!"

"Oh no!" Usopp chased after the thick-lipped fishman.

"Water! I need water!" Chew shrieked.

" **Usopp Hammer!** " Usopp smashed his hammer over Chew's head as he fell into the water.

"You... bastard!" Chew shouted as he started to pull himself out of the water.

" **Usopp Hammer! Usopp Hammer! Usopp Hammer! Usopp Rubber Band! Usopp Hammer!** " The long-nosed pirate voiced as he continued to hit the fishman before he realised that he was unconscious, "I won... I beat... a fishman," Usopp fell backwards, "look... even I! Even I can do it! Did you see that, you fish! Don't you dare underestimate me!"

Nojiko and Nami's House

Nami sat outside the house on one of the benches as she patched up the injuries she inflicted to her shoulder, the straw hat still on her head.

' _I've already cried as much as I can! Complained as much as I can!'_ she thought to herself, ' _But I've made my decision now! I have to go! Everyone's already fighting!_ '

Arlong Park

"Zoro! Sanji!" Luffy cried.

"Am I dreaming!?" Johnny asked, "Wha... what did that shark guy just do?"

"I don't know... I thought he only threw some water," Yosaku replied, "but it knocked those two down and had them coughing up blood!" Sanji and Zoro were both laying on the ground, their coughed up blood beside them.

"Hey!" Luffy shouted at Arlong, "Why'd you do that!? This fight is between us!"

"No," Arlong responded, "this fight is between me and whoever tries to rebel against me. I don't even need to touch you pathetic humans. Just a little water's more than enough to kill the likes of you... this is the difference in power between our races."

"Shut the hell up!" Luffy shouted as he stretched his right arm behind him while running towards the shark fishman, " **Gomu Gomu no...** " he then snapped his fist back into Arlong's abdomen, " **Bullet!** " Arlong was sent back several meters, "I'm sick of you talking about the difference in powers! I'll beat you up no matter how strong you are!"

"I'll shut up that mouth of yours." Arlong threatened.

"Arlong!" The voice of Nami yelled from the entrance to the park.

"Sister Nami!" Johnny and Yosaku cried.

"Nami..." Arlong mumbled, "great timing. I was just about to kill these pirates. So what brings you here?"

"I came here to kill you!" Nami announced.

"To kill me!? Shahahahaha!" Arlong laughed, "In the eight years you've been with me how many times have you tried to kill me? Whether by assassination, poisoning, or surprise attacks... but did you ever succeed!? Shouldn't you know well by now that it's impossible for inferior humans to kill me!? Listen well... I'm not going to kill you... and I won't let you escape either! I'll have you be my cartographer forever! But as you know, I'm an understanding guy! I don't want to chain down a young woman if possible. That's why I'd rather have you be my cartographer out of your own will. Other than you, I'm planning to kill everyone here right now but... if you agree to join the Arlong Pirates again and continue drawing maps for me as one of my crew officers I'll specially allow for the lives of those Cocoyashi villagers to be spared! I can't say the same for these pirates however... they've pissed me off too much. So which will you choose to side? Will you choose to side with me and save your fellow villagers? Or will you side with these weaklings and attempt to fight me? But of course, seeing as how your most dependable fighters are tired and fatigued your inevitable tragedy is only too easy to see! So tell me Nami! Are you with me? Or with them?"

" **Gomu Gomu no Pistol!** " Luffy shouted as he attempted to stretch his arm out to punch Arlong, to which he easily sidestepped, "Stop talking as if I'm not even here! Nami! I'll destroy him for you!"

"Luffy..." Nami held tightly onto the straw hat on her head.

"I wasn't going to let you live in the first place, but now I'm going to torture you so that you wish you were dead!" Arlong shouted.

" **Gomu Gomu no...** " Luffy jumped high at Arlong, stretching out his head, " **Kane!** " He knocked his head against Arlong's.

"Ugh!" Arlong cried out in pain.

"And..." Luffy stretched out his leg, " **Muchi!** " he struck Arlong with a deadly blow in a wide circle. He then rushed Arlong with his arm still stretched out, " **Bullet!** " he punched Arlong in the stomach before he started punching Arlong in a blurry, rapid barrage repeatedly as he fell to the floor, it seemed as though Luffy had multiple arms, " **Gatling!** " Arlong was sent into the building, "Whew." The rubber man sighed.

"Wow." The villagers exclaimed.

"Did you... just do something?" Arlong rose, uninjured.

"It... it didn't work at all!" The bounty hunting duo cried.

"Yup," Luffy replied, "my warm-up exercise."

"Shahahahaha... not bad for a pathetic human," Arlong laughed, "but you might've been happier if you hadn't started meddling in this villages business."

"Huh? No, I'm pretty happy to be here." Luffy started doing warm up stretches.

"Do you understand just how angry I am?" Arlong asked, trying to remain as calm as possible, "The seething rage I feel after seeing my beloved brethren be crushed by you pathetic insects! Within time, you'll come to see that you were definitely better off never coming to this village."

"I wonder if Brother Luffy'll be alright," Yosaku said to himself, "even that fierce attack just now didn't affect Arlong at all!"

"Enough about that! He can do it!" Johnny stated confidently.

"Attack Luffy! I'll be backing you up!" Usopp shouted, who had just got back from his victory, through a small hole in the wall.

"Enough with your 'back up'." Nami sweatdropped. She looked up to see Naruto sitting on the wall, calmly looking upon the fight. She remembered the fight that they had on the road to Cocoyashi Village and frowned.

"If he dies you'll all be killed." Sanji told the villagers as he lit another cigarette.

"And it'll also be the end for the East Blue." Nojiko added.

"Yes..." Genzo agreed.

"Do you know what hopeless difference there is between you and I?" Arlong asked as he stood up.

"Nose? Or jaw?" Luffy asked.

"I-is he... joking around?" Yosaku asked.

"No... I think he's serious." Johnny replied.

"Webbed hands!" Luffy exclaimed

"Our race!" Arlong shouted as he attempted to bite the pirate.

"Ahh!" Luffy exclaimed as he dodged the vicious set of jaws, "Wah! Gah! Ack! Agh!" Luffy stepped back as Arlong continued trying to bite him. Luffy was avoiding the attacks until he walked backwards into a colonnade and Arlong grabbed him by the throat and tried to bite him once again, however Luffy grabbed his head and moved it away from the shark fishman, "Whew."

"Ha, look at that idiot!" Usopp laughed at Arlong because his teeth were stuck in the colonnade, "He bit that rock pillar! His teeth must be brok-" Usopp was silenced when Arlong bit right through the pillar.

"Aghhhh! He bit through that pillar!?" The bounty hunting duo cried.

"Ahh, talk about scary!" Luffy exclaimed as he scurried away.

"If he got bit by that he wouldn't just get bitemarks, his bones would be chewed right through!" Sanji stated.

"This is the power that we fishman are born with," explained Arlong, "a power that the heavens did not bestow upon your race. Which is why you are the inferior species! We're on completely different levels from the moment of birth!"

"That's true... that ability's not something a human can achieve even after years of training." stated Usopp.

"So what!?" Luffy yelled as he punched the remains of the pillar, crushing it, "Don't get cocky just because of that. I don't need to chew through stone to crush it!"

"Hahaaaa! Nice one brother!" Yosaku laughed.

"That's right! The end result is all the same!" Johnny commented.

"Such frivolous objections!" Arlong shouted as he ran towards Luffy, "You humans truly are an idiotic, weak, pathetic race! What can you do!? You can't even save yourself from drowning!"

"It's because I can't do anything that I need help!" Luffy replied as he picked up two of the downed fishmen's swords, "Shishishishi!"

"Does he know how to fight with a sword?" Sanji asked.

"He's a swordsman?" Zoro questioned. However, instead of fighting in a specific style, Luffy was just swinging them around wildly.

"Ngahhh!" Luffy cried.

"The hell?" Arlong questioned as he easily evaded his attacks, "You're just swinging around those swords randomly!" He ended the attack with his saw-like nose as he parried one of the sword, sending it flying, "I don't have the time to play around with you. Got it!?" Luffy tried to slash at him again, except it ended the same way the first one did, "Enough with your stupid little g-"

"Shut your trap!" Luffy yelled as he span in the air and, using his momentum, punched Arlong with as much power and force as possible in the jaw, breaking his teeth that he was so proud of.

"Whaa! He broke Arlong's teeth!" The villagers exclaimed.

"Guahhhh!" Arlong cried out in pain as he rolled around on the floor.

"Of course I don't know how to fight with swords you dumbass!" Luffy shouted at the remaining fishman.

"What? What's he trying to say?" Johnny questioned.

"I don't know a thing about navigation either!" Luffy added, "I can't cook! I don't know how to be stealthy! And I can't lie either! I'm confident that I wouldn't be able to survive if other people aren't there to help me!"

"Shahahahaha... aren't you quite honest about admitting how worthless you are!?" Arlong sat back up, "Must be quite hard for your crewmates to deal with such an incompetent captain like you. It's a wonder why'd they try so desperately hard to save you. You call yourself fit to be captain when you don't even have an ounce of self-confidence!? Just what exactly can you do!?"

"I can beat you." Luffy answered with a grin.

"Alright, brother Luffy!" Johnny yelled.

"Haha..." Nami sighed.

"Damn straight." Sanji smirked.

"I'll kill you if you lose..." Zoro mumbled.

"And I'll back you up!" Usopp stated.

"Fishman or not, Luffy can win." said Naruto.

"Enough babbling, you pathetic human!" Arlong shouted as his teeth grew back.

"Ahh! His teeth grew back!" Luffy shrieked.

"I am a shark after all. My teeth will grow back every time," Arlong explained, "and these new ones are always stronger than the last! No matter..." Arlong pulled out his jaws yet again, "how many times!" He pulled out the new set as well. Everyone gawked at this ability, "This is the gift bestowed to me by the heavens."

"Whoa." Luffy stared at the shark teeth.

"Now do you realise just how much superior fishmen are?" Arlong asked as he held his two set of teeth ahead of him and started trying to snap at him with the shark teeth in his hands and in his mouth, " **Tooth Gum!** "

"Ahh!" Luffy cried as he grabbed hold of one of the jaws, Arlong, though, continued biting him with his mouth and his other set, "Gyaaaaa!" Luffy cried as blood spurted all over Arlong.

"Shahahahaha!" Arlong laughed.

"Brother Luffy!" Johnny and Yosaku cried. Everyone was worried for Luffy, before they saw that he was shielding himself with the body of one of the fishmen.

"A-Arlong... it hurts..." The fishman cried in pain.

"Wha!?" Arlong pulled back immediately, "My fellow fishman!"

"Whew." Luffy sighed in relief.

"Why you!" Arlong looked down on Luffy with a menacing glare.

"Hmm... that gives me a good idea." Luffy said to himself.

"You used my crew as a shield! You little brat!" Arlong shouted.

"That's so scary." Usopp wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Brother Luffy said that he came up with a good idea." Yosaku stated.

"I wonder what his idea is." said Johnny.

"Knowing him, it's probably something stupid." Naruto smirked.

"He might've found a technique to be that man?" Sanji questioned.

" **Tooth Gum!** " Arlong continued his pursuit on Luffy as he started trying to bite him yet again.

"Ah! Woah! Aiee!" Luffy shrieked as he dodged the attacks. When he saw an opening he ducked underneath Arlong's arm and kicked the fishman in the face, sending him across the floor, dropping his set of teeth.

"And it comes out!" Luffy grinned as he picked up the jaws.

"You stupid human!" Arlong stood back up as he replaced his teeth again, "How many times have I told you that it's worthless to destroy my teeth? Don't you get it?"

"Look!" Luffy pointed to his mouth, which had the set of teeth Arlong was using, "I have the same teeth as you now."

' _This is his good idea?'_ The villagers thought to themselves.

"Told you." Naruto stated.

"How long will you continue to insult me?" Arlong asked as he snapped at Luffy once more.

"Agh! The shark is biting me!" Luffy cried.

"Stop playing around!" The bounty hunting duo cried.

"Who said that I was playing!?" Luffy cried as he grabbed some rubble to block Arlong's attack and roll away.

"Shahahaha!" Arlong laughed as he rushed at Luffy, who, on the ground, was in a vulnerable position. He plunged the set of teeth into Luffy's torso.

"Ugh!" Luffy shrieked in pain.

"He got him!" Yosaku cried.

"Agh!" Luffy cried in pain again. Luffy raised himself to Arlong's shoulder and took a bite of it with his shark teeth.

"Arghh!" Arlong let go off Luffy, who spat out the teeth.

"How was that!? You got hurt by your own teeth!" Luffy shouted.

"It is my teeth, but your jaws aren't strong enough," the shark fishman explained, "listen! Shark's teeth has the power that can destroy the human body in just one bite. This is the real power of a shark's jaw!" Arlong crunched on Luffy's elbow.

"Ah! He got his arm!" Johnny cried out.

"Agh!" Luffy cried as he tried lifting up Arlong before slamming him back down to the ground, with Arlong weakened, Luffy pulled his elbow out of the fishman's mouth, "Ahhh!" He cried out in pain as his bloody, broken elbow was revealed.

"If he waited for another second he could've lost his arm." Genzo commented. Arlong touched the side of his head and noticed something wet. He looked at his hand and saw the dark red blood. Luffy rolled along the floor panting, when he got up he couldn't see Arlong.

"Eh? Where is he?" Luffy asked himself.

"Luffy! In the sea!" Usopp voiced.

"Sea?" Luffy questioned as he saw a shark's fin appear swimming in the sea, "It's just a shark!"

"That's Arlong!" Usopp informed his captain. The fin dropped down from the surface.

"What? He dove to the bottom." Luffy noticed.

"No one can compare to my speed underwater." Arlong told himself.

"Did he escape?" Luffy asked he bent over to look at the water.

" **Shark on Darts!** " Arlong burst out of the water at a tremendous speed with his saw-like nose at the front of his body. Luffy tried to dodge, but he wasn't able to escape all of the attack and the side of his torso got cut up. Arlong couldn't stop his momentum and he crashed into the building.

"What's that!?" Usopp asked.

"Torpedo?" Sanji questioned.

"Arlong shot himself from underwater!?" The villagers cried.

"Ouch!" Luffy cried as he held the bloody side of his torso, "That hurt!" Arlong looked down from the building.

"You escaped?" Arlong questioned, "But no matter how many times you escape this hell game will continue. **Shark on Darts!** " Arlong launched himself from above to attempt to pierce through Luffy's body.

"Ahh!" Luffy pushed himself away just in time. Arlong's nose broke up some of the floor, however.

"His nose is so strong! That stupid shark!" Sanji exclaimed, "He can use his nose to destroy the floor!"

" **Shark on Darts!** " Arlong announced yet again as he shot at Luffy.

"Ahh!" Luffy cried as the fishman's nose scraped his left thigh and was sent up in the air before he fell back to the ground. When he got up he couldn't see Arlong again.

"Luffy! Don't stand there! He went under the water again!" Usopp warned.

"Get out of there, brother!" Johnny and Yosaku exclaimed.

"No." Luffy replied calmly.

"What the hell are you saying!?" Sanji shouted, "You are on his target! Get out of there!"

"No!" Luffy yelled, "I will catch him and break his nose! Come at me, shark!"

"Shahahaha! He's got guts," Arlong laughed to himself from beneath the surface, "or perhaps... he realised it'd be futile to try running away?"

"Do you not know what the word 'hide' means!?" Usopp yelled, "You only barely managed to dodge his attacks! If he lands a direct hit the next time, you'll die!"

" **Gomu Gomu no...** " Luffy grabbed the fingers of his left hand, " **Tate!** " He created a small shield with his fingers.

"Huh? What's that stance?" Yosaku asked.

"Don't tell me he's seriously planning to stop Arlong with just that!" Johnny exclaimed.

"At this distance, I'll speed up two times faster than before! I'll skewer his heart!" Arlong shouted as he prepared to attack the rubber man again, " **Shark on Darts!** " Arlong sprung out of the water at a faster speed than before, connecting with Luffy hard.

"He's hit!" Yosaku cried out. Luffy was hit, however, he didn't cry out in pain, instead he grinned.

"Shishishi!" Luffy grinned as he stretched his fingers to capture Arlong before he bounced off of the fishman who crashed into the building.

"What happened!? Was he hit!?" Usopp shouted.

"No! He bounced himself away from Arlong!" Sanji cried.

"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed, "That move won't work on me anymore!"

" **Shark on Darts!** " Arlong sprung out of the building underneath Luffy.

"Aghhh!" Luffy cried out as he got hit once more.

"You can't escape from me." Arlong smirked.

"Hmph! You just got lucky that time!" Luffy shouted, "Scared me good!"

"Time to finish this!" Arlong launched himself again.

"As if I'll let you! **Gomu Gomu no...** " Luffy entwined his fingers behind his head in the shape of a net, " **Ami!** " He stretched out his fingers, making a larger net, and trapped Arlong like a fish, "Time for fishing!" Luffy span himself around and held his feet together, "Followed by! **Yari** " Luffy stretched to kick Arlong in the gut with both feet simultaneously, sending the fishman to the ground in pain.

"Guhaa!" Arlong cried as he spat up some blood.

"Ahh!" The villagers cheered, "It worked!" Arlong laid on the floor, unmoving.

"Hm? Is he dead?" Luffy asked himself. Arlong remained still, until he snapped and his eyes changed, resembling that of a Sea King.

"Arlong's eyes changed!" Nojiko exclaimed.

"They're the same eyes that a Sea King has when it goes berserk!" Sanji explained, "Luffy made him even angrier with his attack just now!"

"That's the first time I've seen those eyes!" Nami stated.

"How dare an inferior human," Arlong spoke with much more venom that before as he grabbed Luffy by the head, "Do this to me, a fishman!?" Arlong threw the rubber pirate towards the building, creating a massive amount of rubble.

"Ahh... that was scary," Luffy said as he rose out from the rubble, "didn't hurt but it looks like he's seriously pissed off... ah!" Arlong rushed at him again with the same enraged eyes, "Whoa!" Luffy jumped up onto another level of the building. Out of the building, Arlong pulled out a giant black pole with six saw-toothed patterned black blades, resembling a shark's saw-like teeth.

"What's that?" Luffy asked himself.

"That's one freakin' huge saw!" Johnny exclaimed.

"It's 'Kiribachi!" Nami cried. Arlong leaped up to the level that Luffy was on and attempted to swing down upon the pirate captain.

"Agh!" Luffy cried as he jumped out of the way onto the above level. The enraged fishman span in the air as he continued to attempt to cut down on Luffy relentlessly as they gradually went up the building.

"He's not stopping! He's chasing him all the way up!" The villagers exclaimed.

"Ack!" Luffy looked around, realising that there was no level above him and couldn't escape.

"Die!" Arlong shouted as he slashed at Luffy.

"Ugh!" Luffy cried out as he crashed into the room on the top level.

"He escaped inside!" Sanji yelled out.

"The left window on the top floor," Nami realised, "it's the cartography room!"

"Don't get in my way anymore you damn rubber brat!" Arlong ordered.

"What... is this room?" Luffy asked as he looked around the room. It had maps everywhere with a small desk and chair along with cupboards full of books, "It's full of paper."

"They're not just papers. These are all the maps that Nami spent eight years drawing," Arlong explained, "for us fishmen, obtaining data about the sea is simple but using that data to draw maps is another matter. Even if you search the whole world, you won't find someone who can draw maps as accurate as these! That girl is a genius."

"Ohh..." Luffy commented as he looked around the room until he looked beside him, where a bloody pen was rolling around.

"There is nothing more tragic than to waste those god-given talents that she possesses!" Arlong exclaimed.

"This pen is encrusted with blood..." Luffy held the pen up to his face.

"For Nami, there is no better happiness than to stay here and continue drawing maps! For the sake of my ambition, that is!" Arlong shouted as he put the blade up against the rubber man's neck, "Once we fishmen learn everything there is to know about the seas from her maps, we shall be invincible! The world shall then become my empire! And this island, or the East Blue in essence, shall be my stepping stone for that!"

"Hmm..." Luffy hummed to himself.

"Do you think you can use her more effectively than I!?" Arlong questioned. Luffy dropped the pen and held one of the blades of the Kiribachi, ' _What? I can't... move Kiribachi even a single inch!_ "

"Use?" Luffy asked darkly as he crushed the blade he was holding.

"My Kiribachi!" Arlong exclaimed.

"Just what exactly do you think she is?" Luffy questioned.

"She's a brilliant cartographer. Of course, she is still a member of your inferior race, but she's got a good head on her shoulders. If I were to liken you humans to filthy rats then she'd be a cheeky little cat," Arlong explained, "in any case, she's a cut lil' thing. I'll have her continue drawing for me in this room, for forever, that is. I'll feed her and even buy her any clothes she wants! That girl will never be in want for as long as she lives. In return, all she has to do is draw maps for me. Because you see, we're crewmates." That last comment about them being crewmates made Luffy see red. The rubber man kicked the desk as hard as he could so it flew out of the building.

"What!?" The villagers cried.

"A desk..." Sanji muttered.

"What's he doing?" Naruto asked himself.

"Whew... it's just a desk," Yosaku sighed, "that scared me good. For a second, I almost thought it was brother Lu-"

"Hey! Are you saying you don't believe in brother Luffy's strength!?" Johnny chided.

"Hey, you were scared too, Johnny!" Yosaku retorted.

"Wha... no, umm... I uhh, thought it might be Arlong." Johnny justified himself. While they were arguing Nami looked at the falling desk. Luffy continued punching and kicking all the cupboards and maps out of the building.

"The hell do you think you're doing!?" Arlong cried as he saw all of the work Nami had created over her eight years being destroyed.

"Luffy?" Nami questioned as she saw the cupboard being sent flying out of the room.

"What's with all these things being thrown outta there?" Usopp asked.

' _From today on, this'll be your room!_ ' Nami remembered Arlong telling her when she was younger, ' _And over there's your desk and pen! Anything that you might possibly need is all here!'_

"Stop that already!" Arlong tried to slice Luffy who continued destroying the room. Luffy jumped out of the way causing Arlong, to accidentally cut up hundreds of maps, "Aghh! M-my maps!"

' _Don't you ever even think of tricking me, you little brat! How dare you draw fake maps!_ ' Nami held her hand up to her mouth as she cried as she remembered all the bad memories of that room and realised what Luffy was doing, ' _Here's the data for you next task. Turn all of it into maps! And don't you dare leave your room until you're finished, you hear!?'_

"Those maps took Nami eight years to draw, you bastard!" Arlong shouted as he grabbed Luffy by the throat.

"Arghhh!" Luffy cried as he punched another cupboard full of books out.

 _'Shahahaha!_ ' Nami remembered the evil laugh as she continued to cry. The furniture, cupboards and maps continued to be flown out of the room

"Seems like an intense fight is going on up there." Yosaku commented.

' _Thank you..._ ' Nami thought to herself as she held onto the straw hat on her head.

"W-what exactly is going on!?" Usopp cried as the bombardment of chairs and cupboards stopped.

"It stopped..." Sanji commented.

"You went to damn far, you rubber-trash!" Arlong shouted as he sunked his jaws into Luffy's neck.

"Gahh!" Luffy screamed in pain, "I ain't got a damn clue about fishmen or how great they are," Luffy grabbed the saw-like nose as hard as he could, "nor do I know anything about maps or her circumstances... but!" Arlong screamed in pain as Luffy viciously broke his prised nose, "I finally know how to help her now!"

"Gyaaaaa!" Arlong screamed as he released his hold of the rubber pirate and fell to the ground.

"This room that she never wanted to be in... I can't allow it to exist!" Luffy explained, "I'll erase this place down to the very last trace! **Gomu Gomu no...** " Luffy kicked his right leg out into the air, kicking the roof in the process, knocking the flag off the top.

"Don't get conceited now! As if the might Arlong Park could ever be destroyed by the likes of you inferior scum!" Arlong bent his nose back in place, ignoring the pain, " **Shark on...** " Arlong started spinning rapidly with his mouth open and launched himself at the pirate, " **Tooth!** "

" **Ono!** " Luffy shouted as he brought his foot down, "Gyaaaa!" Luffy screamed as Arlong bit into his torso, tearing it apart, "Arghhhh!" Luffy smashed his foot down on Arlong's head, "Arghhhhhhhhhhhh!" Luffy cried as he kicked the fishman down the floors, crushing Arlong Park in the process.

"Wha!?" All the viewers exclaimed. Luffy panted profusely as he snapped his foot back. He looked down through all the holes he created through the floors to see Arlong, dead and bloody at the bottom.

"Hm?" Luffy questioned as he felt a rock hit his head.

"L-look! After that impact just now, Arlong Park is... now way! It's all coming down!" Nojiko cried.

"It's too dangerous! Everyone evacuate immediately!" Yosaku told all the villagers as they ran to safety. Nami disregarded this as she raced towards the crumbling building.

"Sister Nami!" Johnny exclaimed as he tried to catch her.

"But Luffy's still in there!" Nami yelled before she felt herself being picked up.

"You've gotta get back." Naruto told her as he jumped back with her in his arms.

"No! Put me down! He's gonna die!" Nami begged as she started hitting his chest.

"Don't worry, he's alive." Naruto grinned before the entire building collapsed in front of their eyes.

"Luffy!" The crew cried out.

"Arlong Park... is destroyed!" One of the villagers voiced.

"Brother!" Johnny called his partner.

"Just what the heck happened in there!?" Yosaku questioned.

"Which one of them won!?" Sanji shouted out.

"After that destruction, I can't possibly imagine that." Genzo replied.

"Luffy..." Usopp stated nervously. There was a long silence before they could see a figure appear at the top of the broken down structure.

"Luffy!" Everyone cheered loudly as they recognised who it was. He stood there for a while, panting, trying to catch his breath.

"Is he alright?" Usopp asked.

"Nami!" Luffy shouted as loud as he could, "You're my crewmate, got it!?"

"Got it!" Nami nodded with tears in her eyes.

"He won!" Usopp cheered joyfully.

"He did it, sis! He won!" Sanji yelled as he went to embrace Nojiko, only for her to jump straight to Genzo.

"Gen!" She exclaimed.

"It feels like I'm dreaming... I'd never imagine that such a day would actually come!" Genzo responded, "Arlong Park has fallen!" All of the villagers dropped their weapons and were dancing and cheering, something they hadn't done for eight long years.

"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed as he watched all the villagers embrace each other happily.

"That's enough celebrating! Chichichichi!" the voice of the marine captain who tore up Bell-mère's tangerine grove.

"It's him!" Nami stated.

"What a lucky day it is for me today! I'd like to thank you all for showing me a most exhilarating battle," Nezumi told them, "whether by sheer luck or not, I'd have never guessed that the fishmen would actually be defeated by a bunch of no-name pirates. But thanks to you, the money that I had to hand over to Arlong as well as all the riches of Arlong Park now belongs to me! So throw down your arms! I, Captain Nezumi of the 16th branch of the marines, shall hereby take credit for your victory!" The marines couldn't get very far before their leader was decapitated. As the lifeless corpse fell to the ground, Naruto stood above it, holding his bloody kunai with the blood of the marine splattered on his face.

"Naruto!" Usopp cried.

"Don't you think it's a bit mean to do this while everyone's celebrating?" He asked sarcastically. The other marines started trying to run away before they were stopped by Zoro.

"It ain't nice to be such a wet blanket when people are busy celebrating," The swordsman proceeded to beat up as many marines as possible, however, one of them managed to escape, "should we go after him?"

"Nah, have fun!" Luffy replied with a grin.

"To think we'd be saved by pirates..." Genzo sighed to himself.

"You just never know!" The village doctor replied.

"Alright, guys! We can't just hog all the good news for ourselves! Let's go tell everyone on the island! That Arlong Park is no more!" The villagers cheered as they ran to all the other villages on the island.

Bell-mère's Grave

 _'It's finally done, Bell-mère,'_ Nami thought to herself as she sat down next to the grave, ' _it took over eight years, but at long last everyone is free again!'_ "Hey Gen, Nojiko!"

"Hm?" The two standing behind her responded.

"Do you think that if Bell-mère was alive that she'd stop me from becoming a pirate?" Nami asked them.

"How could she allow her precious daughter to become a p-" Genzo started.

"Nope, she wouldn't!" Nojiko answered, "But if she did, would you do as you're told?"

"Nope!" Nami replied with her tongue out, "Not at all!"

Cocoyashi Village

"Ugyaaaa!" The screams of Zoro spread throughout the village.

"He's screaming again." Sanji told Usopp as they laid on one of the seats beneath the shade of a palm tree.

"Well, duh," Usopp replied, "the doctor said it'd normally take two whole years for him to fully recover."

"And yet he still insists on moving around. He's out of my mind." Sanji sighed as he smoked his cigarette.

"You fool! How could you even think of trying to shoddily patch up these serious wounds on your own!?" The village doctor rebuked Zoro as he patched him up, "Don't you have a doctor on your ship!?"

"A doctor? That's a good idea. But we'd need a musician first." Luffy commented.

"Why?" The doctor asked.

"Because pirates gotta sing, you know." He anwered.

Marine Base 16th Branch

The same marine that the Straw-Hat Crew let go was at the base speaking through a Den Den Mushi.

"H-hello? Do you hear me?" The officer asked nervously.

"Roger, this is Marine Headquarters. Who am I speaking to?" The voice on the Den Den Mushi replied.

"U-um, Officer Mausu of the 16th Branch, Marine Code #00732," the marine answered, "I'm calling about a-an urgent request!"

"I can hear you just fine even if you don't yell." The voice told him.

"There's this straw hat-wearing pirate, he goes by the name of Luffy I'm pretty sure a-a-and he had five other crewmembers a-and one of them killed Captain Nezumi!" Mausu informed Marine Headquarters, "The who killed Captain Nezumi l-looked pretty young and had blonde hair, his name was N-Naruto."

"Luffy and Naruto, you said..." The marine on the other side wrote down the names.

"L-Luffy's the captain I think. A-and h-he killed Arlong! A-and they defeated the Arlong Pirates, b-b-b-but considering how violent they were towards us a-and how they killed Captain Nezumi and endangered the lives of civilians," Mausu explained, "I f-formally request a bounty to be placed on both their heads! I'm forwarding you their p-pictures as I speak!"

"Couldn't you have taken a more serious picture of the straw hat one?" The marine asked through the Den Den Mushi.

"T-that was the only one I could get." Mausu replied.

"Well, once your reports have been confirmed, we shall ask authorisation from the higher-ups." Mausu listened to the man on the Den Den Mushi.

"P-please! They are both extremely heinous pirates! They should be taken very seriously! Dead or alive!" The scared Mausu insisted, "I b-beg of you! Place a bounty on each of their heads for all nations of the world to see!"

Cocoyashi Village

Night fell upon the village once more and the waves were a quiet as always. However, the thunderous festivities did not subside this night or the next for the people had all endured for this moment. They had endured everything in order to laugh again.

"Ahh!" Luffy exclaimed as he ate some meat. His elbow had been bandaged, along with his torso and left thigh.

"Ahh... I sure ate a lot," Sanji commented, "feels nice to stuff yourself every now and then."

"Hey, Sanji!" Luffy grabbed his cook's attention, "Was there something on that last melon you ate just now!?"

"What's with all the meat you're holding onto?" Zoro asked as he drank some rum.

"Yeah, it was a melon with raw ham called 'Raw Ham Melon." Sanji answered.

"Raw Ham Melon!?" Luffy realised, "Where'd you get it!?"

"Not sure since there's food put out everywhere for all the villagers," Sanji replied, "must've picked it up from somewhere."

"Then I'll go find it!" Luffy announced as he ran off.

"He's been eating non-stop." Zoro told the cook.

"Tell me about it," Sanji responded, "hey have you seen Naruto at all recently?"

"No," Zoro replied, "I haven't seen him since he killed that marine." A couple blocks away, on the roof of a house, Naruto sat peacefully watching the people celebrate. He wasn't necessarily thinking about anything, just observing. Looking at all the villagers who had endured so much for the past eight years celebrate so happily.

"Hey," Naruto turned to see Nami walking towards him, "is it alright if I sit next to you?"

"Yeah." Naruto replied. The woman sat next to the blonde pirate and watched the villagers for a moment.

"About what happened on the road before," Naruto started, "I'm sorry. It was stupid of me, I shouldn't of said it."

"No, I shouldn't have gotten everyone into that situation in the first place." Nami responded.

"What?" Naruto looked at her, confused.

"I should've trusted you all in the first place to beat Arlong instead of trying to lie to you." The navigator told him.

"Don't think like that, it's stupid." Naruto turned back to the villagers.

"Why?" It was Nami's turn to look at Naruto.

"In your mind Arlong was probably the strongest in the world," Naruto began, "it's perfectly understandable to try and do that. I just got annoyed that someone I trusted wouldn't talk to me about that."

"You trusted me? You always seemed pretty suspicious." Nami replied.

"I always knew that you had something else on your mind wherever we went," Naruto told her, "whether we were fighting Buggy, back at Usopp's island or when we were at the Baratie. I could see it in your eyes, you always had something else on your agenda."

"How could you tell that much about me?" Nami questioned.

"You didn't really hide your intentions very well." Naruto smirked.

"What?" Nami asked.

"Well, you remember when we were at the café at Usopp's village where I told you all about the place I grew up in and how lying was encouraged?" Naruto asked, Nami nodded, "Well that place was surrounded with lies and deception. In all the time I was there I don't think one person told me the truth. I learned from them how to lie and how to deceive my true intentions."

"Just the normal villagers did that to you?" Nami asked.

"Well, they weren't really normal villagers." Naruto replied.

"What'd you mean?" The navigator asked, to which Naruto jumped up.

"That's a story for another time," He grinned, "I'm gonna get something to eat." He then proceeded to jump down to the dancing people of the island, leaving Nami alone as she watched him grab something to eat. She was keeping a close eye on him, until he suddenly disappeared under her nose within a group of villagers.

"Who is he?" She sighed to herself.

Bell-mère's Grave

Genzo stood next to the grave, talking to the cross, remembering all the memories they shared together.

"Bell-mère, your daughters have grown up to be fine, strong women," He poured out some alcohol over the cross, "it almost feels like I'm seeing you again when I look at your daughters. From now on, all of us will do our best to live life to the fullest. Because our freedom came at the cost of so many lives we have to live our lives to the fullest for their sake. We have to laugh and smile until our very cheeks hurt!"

"Raw Ham Melon!" Luffy shouted from behind him, alerting the chief, "Huh? There's no food here... darn it. Oh well, I'll head back."

"Just wait right there!" Genzo ordered the straw hat-wearing pirate.

"A grave? Did somebody die?" Luffy asked with a meat bone in his mouth.

"Yes... but it was long ago." The pinwheel wearing man answered.

"I see, well he or she has my deepest c... hm?" Luffy started wondering, "Condiments? Con... conditions?"

"The word is 'condolences." Genzo told him.

"Right, that." The pirate responded.

"Hey, kid. Nami said she'll join your crew and become a pirate... it'll be a dangerous journey," Genzo started, "so if you ever do something to steal her smile away, I'll personal come and kill you! Understand!?"

"Understood." Luffy replied without hesitation.

Cocoyashi Village

"How boring." Nojiko commented on the young boy, Chabo.

"What is?" Chabo asked.

"You're not sulking at all," the blue haired woman explained, "I thought you'd be all, 'oh why did my dad have to die before this day,' or something like that."

"That's what I thought at first too," The young boy exclaimed, "but then I realised that nothing good would come from such thoughts."

"How cheeky." Nojiko said as she pinched the young boy on the cheek.

"Ow ow oww! Why're you pinching me!? What the hell!" Chabo cried.

"Here I was, waiting for a chance to pick on you some more." Nojiko sighed.

"Owww! You've already picked on me enough!" Shouted Chabo, "You violent tattooed lady!"

"Ahahahahaha!" Nojiko laughed, "Just 'tattooed lady' is fine."

Hospital

"Erase it?" The doctor asked as Nami laid down on the bed, "I'm afraid erasing it completely will be impossible since it'll leave a bit of a scar. That's just how tattoos are."

"That's right... tattoos aren't something you can just erase," Nami stated, "hey, doc... there's something I'd like you to tattoo for me."

"Hm?" The doctor questioned.

"This." The navigator held up a sketch of the tattoo that she wanted. Outside the hospital, Johnny and Yosaku were dancing along with some of the women of the village.

"Ahahahaha! These two sure know how to dance!" The villagers cheered.

Day of The Departure

All the villagers crowded around to see the Going Merry's departure and see off the brave souls that defeated the Arlong Pirates and set them free. Johnny and Yosaku stood in front of the villagers.

"We must now return back to our job as bounty hunters. So thank you for all your help until now." Yosaku thanked.

"Though we must say good-bye, may we meet once again someplace else in the future." Johnny told them.

"I see then. Take care." Luffy waved to them.

"The same to you, my brothers." The bounty hunting partners said in unison. On the ship they were wondering where Nami was.

"Where is she anyways?" Usopp asked.

"Maybe she's not coming?" Zoro told him.

"Maybe." Naruto said in a lazy tone as he laid against the railing of the ship.

"What!? Is Nami really not coming!?" Sanji yelled as if he was in a crisis.

"Hey! That Raw Ham Melon you were talking about wasn't anywhere!" Luffy pointed at Sanji.

"What!? She's leaving all her money behind!? All 100 million belis!?" Genzo asked Nojiko.

"She's not taking any money with her?" The doctor asked, "But she risked her life to save up that much..."

"She said it's fine since she can always steal more," Nojiko explained, "I told her to take a little bit at least but she wouldn't hear of it. You know how she is."

"That fool... its us who should be trying to make things up to her after all she did!" Genzo muttered to himself.

"Set sail!" Nami ordered as she started running at full speed towards the ship.

"Huh?" The villagers questioned.

"She's running over here? What do we do?" Usopp asked.

"She said set sail so... I guess we should set sail." Luffy told his sniper.

"Don't tell me... she's planning to leave without letting us say even a word of thanks or goodbye!?" Genzo shouted.

"Raise the sail!" Luffy ordered.

"Nami, stop!" The villager shouted, "At least let us thank you for all you've done!" With the sail up the crew started drifting away, "Ahh! They're taking off! But we needed to thank you pirates too!"

"Nami, wait! I can't allow you to leave this way!" Genzo yelled as they all tried to grab the running woman.

"You sure it's okay to leave like this?" Sanji asked.

"It's her goodbye so let's let her decide." Luffy replied.

"Nami!" The villagers cried as Nami evaded all of their attempts to grab hold of her.

"Sister!" Nojiko cried as Nami jumped from the dock onto the ship. When the ship was a pretty sizeable distance away from the villagers, Nami lifted her top to reveal all the wallets that she stole, erupting a roar from the villagers.

"Wha!? My wallet's gone!"

"Mine too!"

"Me too"

"Same here!"

"Mine as well!"

"Take care, everyone!" Nami waved goodbye as she held out a wallet.

"You rotten little thief!" The villagers shouted out.

"She still hasn't changed a bit." Usopp stated.

"Is she going to betray us again?" Zoro asked.

"Nami, good job!" Sanji congratulated the navigator.

"Can't say I'm surprised." Naruto yawned.

"Dahahahaha!" Luffy laughed.

"You thieving cat!" The villagers shouted once more.

"Give it back!"

"Give my wallet back!"

"You little brat!"

"Heh heh." Nami giggled.

"Come back anytime you want, you hear!" The villagers suddenly changed how they felt.

"Be sure to stay safe!"

"We have so much to thank you all for!"

' _I'm off, Bell-mère.'_ thought Nami.

"Hey, kid! Don't forget about our promise!" Genzo shouted to Luffy as he gave them all the thumbs up.

"Goodbye, everyone!" Nami waved goodbye, "I'll be off now!" The villagers sat down, tired from all the trouble.

"She sure got us good!" Nojiko sighed, "I should've known better from my own sister. Have fun."

"Hey Genzo." The doctor handed over the sketch of the tattoo Nami got.

"Hm? What's this, doc?" The chief asked.

"She got herself another tattoo." The doctor replied.

"What is it?" Genzo asked.

"She said it's a 'tangerine and a pinwheel." The doctor answered.

"Huh? What happened to your pinwheel, Gen?" Nojiko noticed.

"Haha... I didn't need it anymore." Genzo laughed as he remembered when Bell-mère was alive, ' _ahh, Bell-mère she laughed!'_

 **So there we have it! The first chapter after my long hiatus. I hope that you all enjoyed it and I hope that none of you are mad at me for not posting in such a long time. Something that I should probably say, I have no idea what I'm doing for Nami/Naruto pairing. They might get together, they might not. I have no clue at this point, I'm still deciding. But other than that, there will not be any other pairing within this story, aside from maybe Luffy/Nami but I haven't decided. I hope that you don't mind Naruto fighting as much, but it was as I said at the start, I don't want Naruto to take away from any of the other crew members. Also, I wrote this within the space of 5 days, please don't expect me to do reproduce chapters in that amount of time, because it was really hard but I felt like I was obliged to put something out as soon as possible. Thank you for reading.**


	3. Loguetown

**Disclaimer: I don't own One PIece or any of the characters, all rights go to Eiichiro Oda**

The rays of the sun shone down on the Going Merry and the Straw Hat Pirates. Following the events of Arlong Park, the crew had ample time to rest before their next island endeavour. There was a sense of calmness and tranquility among the ship, each of them still recovering from the injuries they had received. This tranquility ended as Nami started to argue with a News Coo.

"Another price increase?" She asked, "Don't you think it's getting a bit too expensive? Raise the price again and I won't be buying your papers anymore."

"Caw..." The News Coo moaned.

"What're you getting so riled up about?" asked Usopp, "It's just a newspaper."

"Daily expenses all add up, don't you know!?" Nami reasoned.

"I thought you were done with saving up money?" questioned Usopp.

"Don't be stupid. From now on, I'm going to be saving up money for no one but me alone," explained the navigator, "there's no way I'm going to be a penniless pirate!"

"Ok, ok. I'm in the middle of developing my secret tabasco star so keep away!" Usopp told her, "An enemy who gets this in their eye will be rendered completely helpl-"

"Keep your hands off!" Sanji kicked his rubber captain towards Usopp; knocking the tabasco star the sniper was working on into his eyes.

"Gyaaa!" Usopp cried out.

"Oh come on! Can't I just have at least one?" Luffy asked the cook, completely ignoring Usopp's distress.

"Absolutely not! These are Nami's beloved tangerine trees! I won't allow anyone to lay even a single finger on them!" Sanji stated as he proudly guarded the three tangerine trees, "Nami! Rest assured my defence powered by love is infallible!"

"Oh well. I'm in a good mood so I'll drop it then." Luffy grinned.

"Thanks a lot, Sanji!" Nami thanked, knowing that she had him under her thumb.

"What a tool..." Zoro mumbled to himself as he laid against the railings with Naruto.

"Tell me about it." Naruto agreed. There was a silence between them for a bit as they listened to the waves lightly crashing against the ship.

"Hey, Naruto." Zoro got the blonde pirates attention.

"Yeah?" He opened one eye.

"Remember back when we were at the café in Usopp's village?" Zoro asked to which his crewmate nodded, "When you were explaining how you do the stuff you do, you said it was down to your genetics, your Akuma no Mi and then you said something else under your breath. What is this 'something else'?

"Hopefully you'll never have to find out." replied Naruto, intending to drop the subject. Zoro picked up on this and remained silent.

"The world's in such turmoil," Nami told herself as she read through the paper, "another coup d'état in villa? Hm?" Two wanted posters fell out of the newspaper. Everyone other than Zoro and Naruto looked down on it and gasped.

Marine Headquarters

Many high authority marines were having a meeting in a traditional-looking room.

"So in short, our branch forces are unable to deal with this particular pirate crew?" One of them asked.

"Yes," replied the main marine in the room. He was a tall, tanned man with dark-green curly hair, sideburns pointing upwards, large lips and his eyes obscured by a a pair of sunglasses. He wore a blue and white striped shirt with the collar left open, pink suit pants and shoes, this man was Commodore Brannew, "Buggy the Clown, 15 million beli. Pirate Fleet Admiral Don Krieg 17 million beli. The Fishman Pirates Arlong the Saw, 20 million beli! Here in the East Blue, where the average bounty is 3 million. These 3 pirate crews have managed to label themselves as the top dogs, each led by captains with bounties of over 10 million. Yet even they have all been crushed. It is suspected that from the evidence gathered they were all crushed by this straw hat pirate and his crew. Not only that but if the blonde one is who the higher ups believe he is, he is to be approached with extreme danger and caution. And so, though it would seem that an initial bounty of 52 million belis for Monkey D. Luffy and 38 million belis for Naruto Uzumaki might seem a tad excessive, but I firmly believe that it is an appropriate price to issue. Like weeds, evil must be uprooted when they are merely buds!"

The Going Merry

"Hahahaha! Looks like we're wanted men now!" Luffy exclaimed as he held his wanted poster, it was a photo of him smiling widely. "It says 52 million beli!"

"38 million is alright I guess." Naruto said to himself as he looked over his poster, it had a photo of him when he was watching the fight between Luffy and Arlong, he looked calm.

"Once again, you splendidly fail to understand the gravity of your situation," Nami sighed, "don't you realise this means your life is at risk!? With that bounty, I'm sure the marine headquarters as well as other strong bounty hunters will come after you."

"Look! My picture's here for the whole world to see! I might be famous!" Usopp pointed out his head in Luffy's wanted picture.

"As if. That's just the back of your head." Sanji muttered as he had a smoke, disappointed that he didn't get a bounty.

"Don't be jealous now!" Usopp replied, "Once we become more infamous, we might all get one!"

"With this, we can't afford to just loiter around in the East Blue any longer." Nami told the crew.

"Alright, men! Let's head straight for the Grand Line!" Luffy commanded.

"Aye, aye!" Sanji and Usopp cried.

"Hey, I see an island up ahead." Zoro informed the group.

"You do?" Nami peered over the side of the boat to take a look, "That island is proof that we're close to the Grand Line! On that island, there's a famous town called 'Loguetown'. It's also known as 'The Town of the Beginning and the End." It's the birthplace of the Pirate King Roger... as well as his execution spot."

"So that's the town that the pirate king died at..." Luffy said to himself.

"Shall we go?" Nami asked, already knowing what the answer would be.

Loguetown

"Whoa! What a big town!" Luffy exclaimed as he looked at how densely populated the town was and how many shops lined the streets.

"So the pirate age all began from here, eh?" said Sanji.

"Ok, then! I'm gonna go see the execution stand!" Luffy informed.

"Seems like I can get some good ingredients and food here." Sanji stated.

"I'm going to go look for some equipment to buy." Usopp told the crew.

"I'll go look around, see if there's anything interesting around." Naruto added as he walked away.

"I do have something I want to buy too but..." Zoro turned to Nami.

"I'll happily lend you some. At 300 percent interest, that is." Nami replied cheekily.

"Sure." Zoro happily took the money that the navigator was offering, unaware of the consequences. The crew went their separate ways, each of them looking for something in particular, except for Naruto. As Zoro was walking through the town he overhead two large thugs talking to a woman. The woman had dark brown eyes and had short black hair. She wore a purple flower print shit with blue jeans and black shoes.

"Seems like that monster ain't with you today!" One of the thugs noticed.

"It's all because of you that our boss is in prison!" The other one stated.

"If you still haven't learned your lesson," The woman brandished her sword, "I shall gladly be your opponent."

"Did I just hear that correctly!?" questioned the bigger thug, "A little miss like you is going to be our opponent!? Well, why not!"

"When you die tell that monster friend of yours that our dream of going to the Grand Line was broken all because of him!" The two thugs rushed the woman. Zoro was prepared to jump in if anything got out of hand, but in the blink of an eye the woman had disarmed the both of them and injured their wrists in one fluid movement. However, the woman was unable to keep her balance and fell down in front of Zoro, as she fell over she dropped her glasses.

"Oww!" She groaned.

"Ahahahaha! Ain't you a strong one. missy!" The townspeople cheered her on.

"W-what?" She questioned as she waved her hand over the ground in an attempt to locate her spectacles.

"Hey," Zoro held up her glasses to her, "looking for these?"

"S-sorry for troubling you," She accepted her glasses, "T-thank you very much." She looked up to face the swordsman, however, the sight of her face was not something that Zoro had wanted to see.

On A Certain Island

"Aghhh! Hawkeyes! Just what've you come here for!?" A pirate screamed, alerting all the other pirates to come and surround the Shichibukai.

"No need to get antsy, I've got no business with the rest of you," Mihawk told them, "where're your officers? To be hanging around an island such as this... your captain is quite the easygoing man..."

"C-c-c-captain!" One of the pirates ran further into the island where he found the group of officers along with the captain himself.

"Hm?" The captain asked, "Ah, Hawkeyes. Quite a rare guest I've got today. I'm not in such a good mood right now but... have you come for a fight?"

"Hmph... as if I'd want to settle things with a man with only one arm," Mihawk said as he walked closer to the captain and showed him two wanted posters, "I came across some interesting pirates and I was reminded of that story you told me long ago. That interesting story about those kids in a certain village..."

"Wha!? You mean!" The pirates all shouted as they saw the wanted posters of Naruto and Luffy.

"So you've come out at last," The captain wore a long black cape over his shoulders. He wore a white shirt that was only half buttoned, leaving part of his chest exposed with a large red sash tied around his waist which held his sabre on his right side. He wore slightly loose brown trousers cut below the knee and collected halfway up the shin, with golden buttons down the outer leg and sandals. He had a short, scruffy beard. The most striking thing about the man was his red hair and his three scars across his left eye. This man was Red-Haired Shanks, "Hey, everyone! Let's drink! It's time for a party!"

"Drink? But weren't you grumbling over your hangover just now!?" One of the officers yelled.

"You dumbass! How could a man not drink on a day as joyous as this!?" Shanks replied happily, "Hawkeyes! You sit down and have a drink too!"

Foosha Village

"Look, Luffy and Naruto have become wanted men!" The villagers cried, "Not bad!"

"Maybe our village will become known for being the home of two famous pirates." Makino suggested.

"That'd be great!" The villagers cheered and celebrated.

"Stop celebrating, you fools!" Wood Slap demanded, "Just what's there to be happy about having criminals come from our village!?"

"Haha, but look, chief. Look how happy they seem." Makino pointed out.

"Luffy looks happy, not Naruto! Maybe he would be happier if he was a marine!" Wood Slap exclaimed.

"It's their dream, I'm sure both of them are happy, are you worried?" The bartender asked.

"You know, in all their time in this village I never once heard Naruto express a desire to become a pirate!" Wood Slap continued.

"I'm sure he's happy." Makino assured.

"Whatever." Wood Slap muttered.

On A Certain Island

An elderly man was looking intently at the wanted poster of Naruto as he sat atop an extremely large toad.

"Hmm... he looks like that other brat... plus he's an Uzumaki..." The man said to himself.

"Do you reckon it's him?" The toad asked in a deep voice.

"Maybe..." The man put the poster down and picked up a notepad and started writing in it.

Loguetown

Luffy walked around the town until he fell upon a sight that he had wanted to see ever since he heard of the Pirate King Gol D. Roger.

"The execution stand... there it is..." Luffy stated as he stood still and looked intently at it, imagining what it would've been like for the legend to walk the streets of his hometown to reach the stand, "so that's where the great pirate king was executed... the place where the greatest pirate in history was put to death and the place where the pirate age began." While Luffy was admiring the stand, Zoro had walked as quick as possible away from the female swordsman.

"That was shocking. Damn it..." Zoro gritted his teeth as he continued walking away, "but that girl looks way too much like Kuina, she's basically a copy! Not only that, she's a swordsman as well! Well, it is a big world, after all... at least I won't ever run into her anymore. Damn it, I still can't get over it. Hm?" Zoro noticed an arms shop to his right with two fake swords hanging above the doorway, "I'd like to purchase a sword."

"Yes, yes, yes, yes. Come right in, sir. Please feel free to look around as much as you want," The owner of the shop told the swordsman. His name was Ippon-Matsu. He was a short man, with black hair that went to the sides of his head. He had tanned skin and wore a blue shirt and he had a crest-like piece of hair on his forehead that arced upwards, "we've got antique swords, new swords, and the latest swords in fashion. After all, this is a well established store that's been in business for over 200 years!"

"I've got 100,000 beli. Sell me two swords." Zoro demanded.

"100,000? You want two swords with only 100,000!?" Ippon-Matsu questioned, his attitude changing competely, "If you're looking to buy one sword each for around 50,000, I've only got blunt pieces of trash to sell, y'hear!?"

"That'll be good enough since I don't have any money right now." Zoro replied. The shop owner looked bored at Zoro, until he looked down at his waist and saw the sword that the ex-pirate hunter brandished.

' _That sword on his waist... could it be!? Keep it cool now...'_ Ippon-Matsu thought, "H-h-h-h-hey... c-c-c-could I m-m-maybe see that s-s-s-sword of yours?"

"What's with the stuttering?" Zoro asked as he gave him his sword.

' _Ack! This is definitely it!'_ The shop owner gawked, _'C-calm down! This is my big chance! A dumb novice just happened to come in with a famous sword hanging on his waist so don't mess it up! Just play it cool...'_

"Meh, it's no good. Just a piece of junk." The arms dealer scoffed, to which Zoro held him by the collar threateningly.

"What?" He asked darkly.

"Sorry, I was lying just now. I know you're broke so let me propose something," Ippon-Matsu started, "this sword you've got here certainly ain't no junk, but it's no masterpiece either. It's an above-average sword. So I'll offer you 200,000 for this sword, meaning that you'll have 300,000 in total. With that much money, you can buy three decent swords at 100,000 apiece."

"Huh? What're you talking about?" Zoro questioned.

"N-no? Then how about for 500,000!?" Ippon-Matsu readjusted his offer. Zoro simply stared at him, "Fine, you leave me with no choice. I'll buy it for 650,000!"

"Listen pal, this sword isn't something for sale." Zoro stated.

"Ahhhh! This sword!" The same female woman that Zoro had run away from had seemingly appeared out of nowhere and grabbed hold of the sword, "Could it be!?"

' _Don't say it! Don't say it!_ ' Ippon-Matsu begged.

' _W-what's she doing here!?_ ' Zoro thought to himself as he tried to remain cool.

"This is 'Wado Ichimonji,' right!?" The woman stated enthusiastically.

"Wado?" Zoro asked.

"Such a beautiful edge." The woman commented.

"Y-y-y-yes... i-it does h-h-happen to go by such a name... but it's still just a decent sword at best." The shop owner lied.

"Decent!?" The female swordsman cried, "Why, that's ridiculous! This is one of the 21 O Wazamono Grade Swords! It's famous! Look! Look right here!" She pointed her book, "It's a sword that can't be bought for any less than a million beli!"

"Damn it, woman! You've gone and told him everything! I should sue you for obstruction of business!" Ippon-Matsu yelled angrily.

"Wha!? Obstruction of business!? I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?" The woman asked, "It's just that... I've never seen such a fine sword before and-"

"You've come to pick up your 'Shigure,' right!? Here' it's been polished already!" The angry arms dealer threw a katana with a green handle and a guard with a four-petaled design with an elaborate sheath, with the first half being a green and bumpy design and the second half being white and smooth, "Hmph, I can't believe a timid girl like you carries around a Wazamono Grade Sword."

"Ahh!" The woman cried as she fell into a rack of swords.

"The heck are you falling over there for!? Put all the swords back in their place and just leave already!" Ippon-Matsu ordered, "Looks like you got lucky because of that nosy girl. It's exactly as she says and it's a damn shame that a guy like you who doesn't even know its true value is its owner! That sword is a masterwork blade!" He pointed to a barrel of swords, "Those barrels back there a full of 50,000 beli swords. So pick two you like and bring'em over here!"

"What's he so angry about?" Zoro questioned.

"Ah!" The woman alerted the ex-pirate hunter, "Didn't we meet earlier just now on the streets? So you love swords, do you? If you don't mind me saying so, your three swords remind me of a certain bounty hunter!"

"A certain bounty hunter?" Zoro asked with a smirk on his face.

"I'm talking of Roronoa Zoro. Do you know him?" She asked.

"I have heard of his name quite a bit." Zoro answered as he looked through the cheap swords.

"Yes, he's quite a famous swordsman here in the East Blue. Or should I say, infamous?" The woman explained, "To think that he treats his swords as merely a means of making money... it's simply unforgivable! Why is it that the evil are so strong in this day and age? All the famous swordsmen of today are either pirates or bounty hunters. And they're the ones who possess most of the world's masterwork blades. The swords are crying, you know."

"Well, perhaps they all have their own special circumstances, no?" Zoro replied, "Occupations reflect the needs of the time, after all."

"I'd be more than happy to welcome any criminals! I remember when my shop used to be teeming with all sorts of people trying to enter the Grand Line," Ippon-Matsu recalled, "but ever since that monster was placed in charge of this town I barely get any customers anymore!"

"S-Smoker is no monster!" The woman denied.

"He's an Akuma no Mi user! That's more than enough reason to call him a monster!" The shop owner argued.

"Akuma no Mi?" Zoro said to himself.

"In any case... being a swordsman myself, I vow to train harder and harder with my Shigure," The woman vowed, "such that I can travel the world and retrieve all the masterwork blades from the hands of criminals! Whether it be the 12 Saijo O Wazamono Grade Swords, 21 O Wazamono Grade Swords or the 50 Ryo Wazamono Grade Swords, I shall risk my life to retrieve them!"

"Does that mean you'll take this sword too?" Zoro asked with a grin, "This sword you call Wado Ichimonji."

"Wha!?" The woman cried, "Oh, no, not at all. It's not that I want these swords for myself. I simply detest the idea of them being used for evil."

"Hm..." Zoro responded as he held up a sword he found in the barrel.

"Ah!? That sword is! I remember seeing this in my book before!" She snatched the sword from Zoro, "Sandai Kitetsu! You should definitely buy this sword! Mister! Are you really selling this sword for only 50,000!?"

"Y-yes..." The shop owner answered unsure.

"That's amazing! This is another Wazamono Grade Sword!" She exclaimed, "It should normally be sold for a million beli. It's predecessor 'Nidai Kitetsu' is one of the O Wazamono Grade Swords, while 'Shodai Kitetsu' is one of the Saijo O Wazamono Grade Swords!"

"No, I changed my mind! I can't sell that sword!" Ippon-Matsu shouted.

"What!? But why!?" The female swordsman questioned.

"It's cursed, right?" Zoro stated.

"You knew?" Ippon-Matsu asked.

"No... I could tell." The swordsman told him.

"It's as you said. Beginning with the Shodai Kitetsu, the Kitetsu line of blades are renowned for their quality, but they're also cursed swords!" explained the arms dealer, "Many famous swordsmen of the past have suffered tragic deaths after carrying around the Kitetsu swords. That's why you won't find any swordsmen who'd dare to use a Kitetsu these days. Even if a person was unaware of the curse behind these swords, they'd still end up dead after wielding one. I wish I could get rid of that damn sword, but I'm afraid of being cursed too."

"F-forgive me!" The woman apologised, "I had no idea it was such a terrifying sword and ended up saying something so foolish."

"Hmph! This is why amateurs like you shouldn't act like they're experts about swords!" Ippon-Matsu chided.

"I like it!" Zoro stated confidently, "So much so that I'll take it!"

"Y-you idiot, I said it's not for sale!" The shop owner shouted, "If I did sell it to you and you ended up dead, it'd be almost as if I were the one who killed you!"

"Don't be stupid! Just sell the damn thing already!" Ippon-Matsu's wife came out of the back and smacked him over his head.

"Agh! But honey!" The shop owner cried.

"Then how about this? Why don't we test what's stronger?" Zoro smirked, "My luck... or its curse? If I lose," Zoro span the sword up, "then that just means I was never a man who'd amount to anything special." Zoro held his arm out as the blade was spinning down to the floor.

"Stop! You'll lose your arm! That sword's sharpness is unparalleled!" Ippon-Matsu shouted.

"Ahhh!" The woman cried. Zoro stood still, calm, as the cursed sword fell to the floor, cutting very deep, completely missing his arm

"I'll take it!" Zoro smirked, "Hey you. Pick one more sword out for me." He pointed to the woman.

"Hmm? O-ok." The woman tried to calm down.

"Hang on! Just... wait right here!" Ippon-Matsu yelled as he ran into the back, when he came back he was holding a long katana with a black handle. It had a cross-shaped guard and a black lacquered sheath, "This is a black lacquered longsword with an unravelled edge. It's name is 'Yubashiri,' one of the fifty Ryo Wazamono Grade Swords! I can personally attest to its sharpness! Although my store may not be much, this is the best sword I have."

"Haha... I can't buy this. I already told you have no money." Zoro explained.

"I'm not asking for any money! Just take it!" The arms dealer demanded, "And of course, I won't ask you to pay for the Sandai Kitetsu either. I apologise for trying to trick you before. It's been a long time since I've seen a swordsman as good as you. As they say, the sword chooses its owner. So I shall also believe in your good luck and pray!"

"Ok," Zoro took the katana and placed it on his hip along with Wado Ichimonji and Shodai Kitetsu and walked out of the shop, "ahh... I feel much better when I have three swords."

"I'd never have imagined a cheapskate like you would just willingly give away the family heirloom." Ippon-Matsu's wife told the arms dealer.

"Silence, woman!" The shop owner shouted, "Just what's wrong with entrusting his dream to another man!?"

"Alright, just get to cleaning the bathtub." His wife told him.

"Yes, dear!" The arms dealer obeyed as he walked into the back.

"I can't even stand up after that..." The woman sighed. In another part of the town Naruto was walking casually down the street, minding his own business when he got stopped by several men in that were covered in dark grey coats.

"Can you move?" Naruto asked as he looked up at them, he noticed that the other townspeople were crowding around them.

"I'm afraid we can't do that kid," The biggest one out of them said as he stood over the blonde pirate, "we've got some business with you."

"Well, I've got no business with you," Naruto replied, "so can you get out of the way?"

"Like I said before, we aren't moving." The men started closing in on Naruto.

"You know you're all very lucky," Naruto started, "normally i would kill all of you, but since we're in a pretty populated place and I don't want to have to deal with the townspeople, I'm only gonna beat you up."

"Hah! Die!" The men rushed at the pirate with knives and swords in their hands. Naruto grinned as he easily ducked and dodged all the attacks without any effort.

"Wow, you're weak," He taunted as he evaded all the attacks, "as much fun as this is, I have better places to be," Within the blink of an eye all the men in coats were on the ground, holding their guts in pain, "Bye."

"Wait!" A strong voice commanded from behind him.

"Hm?" Naruto turned to see a muscular white-haired man, smoking two cigars at once. He wore an open large thick white and blue specialist marine jacket with greenish fur lining the neck, wrists and hem. He also wore brown leather gloves, blue jeans with a brown belt and large military issue brown leather boots. He also had a jitte hung over his back, "Who're you?"

"Must be a tourist," The man stated, "I'm Smoker, the captain of the marine station here."

"What'd you want." Naruto asked, impatient.

"Those were some good fighting techniques you showed just then." Smoker complemented.

"I know." Naruto replied simply in a bored tone.

"Pretty arrogant I see," The marine captain stated, trying to get a reaction from the young boy, but failed, "look, I'm gonna cut to the chase, from that fight I saw, even though it was short, you're more competent than most marines, especially in the East Blue."

"And?" Naruto questioned.

"Have you ever considering joining the marines?" Smoker asked, "Here in the East Blue we need a strong presence, and even though your young I think tha-"

"No." The pirate replied strongly.

"Just think about it." Smoker told him.

"No." Naruto began walking away before Smoker held him by the shoulder.

"Look kid," He began, "I know I'm sounding desperate bu-"

"No." Naruto shook of the marine and walked away.

"Huh..." Smoker sighed as walked back to the marine base. Naruto continued to walk around the town. He eventually got to a less populated area of the town, where the high class citizens turned into the shady, dirty criminals. He continued walking, without a specific destination in mind, until he reached a fairly small shop without a banner out the front.

"Wonder what's in here." The curiosity got the best of the young pirate as he walked inside, immediately eliciting several coughs due to the dust. The shop was extremely dusty with cobwebs in every corner. Shelves lined the walls, most of them empty aside from a few miscellaneous books.

"Hello there," An elderly voice welcomed Naruto from the front desk. He was a very tall old man with no hair. He had very light and wrinkly skin. He wore a black shirt with sleeves way too long for his arms. He wore brown shorts and no shoes, "what can I do for you."

"I don't know, I just saw this shop and decided to take a look." Naruto replied.

"Please, take your time, your the first person besides myself to step foot in this shop for over five years." The man told him.

"I'm not surprised." Naruto said under his breath.

"Don't be rude, young man." The shop owner scolded, to which Naruto turned on his heels to face the man.

' _How'd he hear me? I whispered practically.'_ thought Naruto.

"My name is Kimyōna by the way." The man informed.

"Ok." Naruto replied as he looked at the very few books on the shelves. Most of them were on the history of the East Blue and the marines. He was bored and wondered why he had bothered coming into this store, until he stumbled upon one book in particular. His eyes widened at the sight.

"Spot something you like?" Kimyōna asked.

"Definitely," Naruto replied as he blew away the dust on the book. The book was called 'Chakra, Basic and Intricate', "how much is it?"

"Free." The shop owner answered, to the surprise of Naruto.

"Really?" The pirate asked again.

"Without a doubt," Kimyōna replied with a smile, "I've been wanting to get rid of that book for decades, but no one ever buys it. So please, take it."

"Thanks," Naruto walked out of the shop, thankful that he could breathe without immediately having to cough after, "this is the thing Mihawk was talking about. Seems old." Back in the more desirable part of the town, Sanji was in the market. Sanji was looking at a very large and strange fish.

"Ohh!" Sanji exclaimed as he looked at the fish.

"Welcome!" The fish store owner welcomed.

"What's this funky fish called?" The cook asked.

"This is an elephant tuna," The owner explained, "you normally wouldn't see these tuna around these parts, but one just so happened to swim up here from the southern seas. And so I snatched it right up with my fishing pole!"

"You caught this!?" Sanji cried.

"Shall I cut it up for you?" The fisherman asked.

"No, no... I'll take the whole thing!" Sanji exclaimed happily, _'Damn it, where'd that beautiful lady I saw just now disappear to?'_ He looked around in order to try and locate the woman, while he was doing this he saw Usopp, "Hm? What does he need at the supermarket?"

"Holy crap! These eggs are so cheap!" Usopp cried as he held up a carton of eggs.

' _What is he, a housewife?'_ Sanji thought to himself. In another part of the town, Nami was in a clothes shop and placed a huge pile of clothes on the front counter.

"I'll take all this!" Nami stated.

"All this?" The owner questioned, "You sure you even have enough money?"

"Of I course I do! How rude." Nami scoffed and paid in full. She walked out of the store with the clothes in several bags.

"Thank you, please come again." The owner waved goodbye.

"The air feels different..." Nami noticed, ' _The air pressure's dropping... at this rate there'll be a rainstorm coming... darn, I wanted to look around a bit more too...'_ "Excuse me, ma'am. Do you have any big vinyl bags?"

"Vinyl bags?" The owner questioned, "But it's not even raining."

Loguetown Marine Station

"Is Tashigi still not here!?" Smoker shouted.

"Sergeant Major Tashigi has gone to pick up her sword at the arms shop, sir!" A marine officer answered.

"Just how many hours does she need to do that!?" Smoker questioned angrily, "We've got an eyewitness report about pirates. Go bring her back immediately."

"Yes, Captain Smoker!" The marine saluted.

"Damn that clumsy woman... she's the shame of the marine headquarters..." Smoker sighed.

"Before I leave, we've received new wanted posters." The marine showed the captain the wanted posters of Luffy and Naruto.

"That kid!" Smoker exclaimed as he saw the wanted poster of Naruto, "No wonder he beat those criminals so easily... and what's with the straw-hat guy? He doesn't look like a pirate... never mind that though, 38 million and 52 million belis!? That's insane! Especially for the East Blue! Men! Gather your things, we're going now!"

Execution Stand

"Ohhhh!" Luffy stood atop the platform and looked down at all the civilians, "Whoaa! So this is what the pirate king saw before he died!"

"Hey, you! Get down from there this instant!" A policemen ordered from below him.

"Why?" Luffy asked.

"Because that's a special execution stand that belongs to the World Government," The policemen explained, "so get down from there imm-"

"Oh, don't be so uptight about the rules, mister police officer," A feminine voice told him as he was struck over the head with an iron mace, "I've been looking all over for you, Luffy! It's been awhile. Don't tell me, you've forgotten my face?" She was a very beautiful and slim woman with a cowgirl hat with a red plume.

"W-what beauty!" The townspeople exclaimed, "She's got to be the most beautiful woman for sure! So pretty!"

"I don't know any ladies like you," Luffy tried to remember if he had met her before, "who are you?"

"I certainly haven't forgotten about you... after all, you were the first man to ever hit my beautiful face." The woman told him.

"What!? I hit your face?" Luffy asked.

"The way you handled me so roughly... it left me breathless," The woman touched her cheek, "tell me, people! Who is the most beautiful one among these seas!"

"That would of course be you!" The townspeople answered.

"Yes, it's mine. There's no man in the world that won't kneel before me," The woman boasted, "but you see, I only love strong men. I'll have you be mine at last, Luffy."

"Shut up, you're annoying. Just who the heck are you?" Luffy questioned.

"You still don't realise!?" The woman cried.

"This is the police! You right there, freeze!" A group of police officers ordered as they faced the woman, "You're hereby under arrest for harming a police officer! And as for you on the execution stand! Get down from there!"

"You think you can arrest me?" The woman smirked.

"S-sir, I'm afraid she's too beautiful!" One of the policemen cried.

"Who cares if she's beautiful! Just arrest her!" The commander ordered, also infatuated with the woman's beauty.

"Die!" Someone shouted as the police officers were sent flying from an explosion behind them.

"Aghhh! It's a bomb!" The officers cried. A broken off piece of the fountain was flying towards the woman.

"One of the broken fountain pieces is headed right for that woman!" The townspeople noticed, "Watch out!" The woman stood still, and when the projectile met her, it simply slid off her skin, "What! The rubble just slipped off of her!"

"My, my. Wasn't that rather dangerous?" The woman stated unharmed.

"W-what was that just now?" Luffy asked.

"My apologies but with your smooth skin you should, of course, be unharmed," Several men in dark cloaks appeared and walked up to the woman, "my lovely lady Alvida!"

"Alvida!? Where's Alvida?" Luffy asked.

"He's calling me Alvida!" The woman, now identified as Alvida, cried, "You idiot!"

"Huh... something seems a bit off though..." Luffy wondered.

"Haha, so you've noticed. My body has changed since I ate an Akuma no Mi!" Alivda explained, "The name of my Akuma no Mi is the Sube Sube no Mi! There is no attack that can leave a wound on my beautiful skin anymore! Unfortunately though, the fruit did nothing to change my beauty... but as you've pointed out, my freckles did indeed disappear!"

"That's not what I was pointing out..." Luffy mumbled.

"In any case, if you're really fit to be my man, then you certainly can't afford to lose to this man!" Alivda stated, "I've teamed up with him exclusively for the purpose of finding you!"

"Ever since the day I was blasted away I tenaciously fought my way back to my crew, all the while wishing for the day when I would kill you," The men threw away their cloaks, revealing themselves as Buggy and his pirate crew, "and what an adventure it was for I, who lacked a body! An adventure of merriments, hellish dangers, and friendships! A most grand adventure for the little Buggy! After much perseverance... wait, why the hell am I telling you all this for!?"

"Oh, it's just Buggy." Luffy stated, uninterested.

"You're still the same cheeky brat as ever, I see!" Buggy shouted. His pirate crew held out their flintlocks and pointed them towards the civilians, "Don't you dare run away, fools! Allow me to demonstrate to you my terror!"

"Agh!" Luffy grunted as Buggy's swordsman Cabaji trapped him on the execution platform with a wood block.

"It's been awhile, rubber brat. Is Roronoa Zoro doing fine as well?" Cabaji questioned.

"Nicely don, Cabaji!" Buggy congratulated his swordsman, "Now then, I shall commence your public execution! Gyahahahahaha! You should consider it an honour to die in the same spot as the pirate king did!" Back in the more peaceful side of town the Straw Hat Crew were walking around after running into one another.

"Good thing I managed to run into you," Sanji told Usopp who was helping the cook carrying the elephant tuna, "oh yea. I happened to see a lion just a little while ago. But there was this weird looking guy in a costume riding on it."

"Why the heck do I have to carry the heavier side!" Usopp exclaimed.

"That's odd... it seems to be getting less crowded here..." Zoro pointed out. He noticed an old looking book that Naruto was carrying, "what's that?"

"A book about chakra." Naruto replied as he looked at the book once again.

"Chakra?" Zoro raised an eyebrow, "What's that?"

"That's what I want to find out." Naruto replied.

"The air pressure is dropping abnormally," Nami told the crew, "it might be best to quickly return to the ship."

"So where is he?" Zoro asked.

"He said he wanted to check out the execution stand." Nami answered.

"Isn't the execution stand right here in the town square?" Usopp stated. In one of the buildings surrounding the execution stand, the marines had set up a spot where they could see the pirates from above.

"Ah, Captain Smoker and Sergeant Major Tashigi!" A marine sniper greeted the two as they walked in. The woman next to Smoker, known as Tashigi, was the same woman who had helped Zoro pick out the swords.

"What's the status?" Smoker asked.

"They've rounded up the civilians to watch," The sniper answered, "there are currently three people with bounties in the town square right now. The Club-Wielding Alvida, Buggy the Clown, and Strawhat Luffy."

"Luffy? He's the one with the bounty of 52 million." Smoker pointed out.

"Yeah, his bounty just came out the other day." The sniper replied.

"Where is he?" The marine captain asked.

"Well, umm... he's actually the one about to be killed now." The sniper answered. Surprising both Tashigi and Smoker.

"Wha!" The Straw Hat Pirates exclaimed as they saw their captain on the execution stand, "Why the hell is he on the execution stand!?"

"Dammit, I can't scratch my nose." Luffy complained.

"For the crime of angering me, I sentence you, Monkey D. Luffy, to a flashy execution!" Buggy announced, "Let's cause a flashy ruckus, boys!"

"Yahoooo!" The crew cried, "Just stand right there and watch!"

"This is the first time I've seen an execution." Luffy stated.

"You're the one who's being executed here!" Buggy shouted at the pirate.

"What!? Are you kidding me!?" Luffy exclaimed.

"No, stop kidding around!" Buggy demanded, "Your execution shall now be carried out for the whole public to see!"

"Why're you in such a rush for!?" Usopp asked as he and Nami were running back to the Going Merry, "Shouldn't we be trying to save Luffy back there!?"

"What use would we be back there!?" Nami replied.

"We could back them up! I'll have you know that I took down a fishman officer all by myself!" Usopp argued.

"Well, we've got something more important to worry about." Nami stated.

"More important?" Usopp asked.

"A storm is headed for this island." Nami answered.

"What!?" Usopp exclaimed.

"The air pressure and temperature's been dropping for the past while now. Not only that, I saw cumulus clouds heading from the east. That's a sure sign of a storm!" Nami explained, "With that ruckus going on in the town square, the marines are sure to come out. What would we do if our ship happened to wash away when we needed to run away!?"

"Holy crap, you're right! That is more important!" Usopp agreed as he started sprinting back to the ship.

"H-hey! Wait for me!" Nami cried.

"I see, a quarrel among the pirates." Smoker stated from the building as they looked at Luffy and Buggy.

"S-shall we give the order to fire?" The sniper asked.

"No need to rush things..." Smoker stated.

"But if we don't hurry, they'll-" The sniper tried to protest.

"Have I ever let pirates escape from this town, even once?" Smoker asked threateningly.

"N-no, sir!" The sniper answered.

"Then just be quiet. Let the pirates kill each other. It'll just mean less work for us," Smoker explained, "only after Straw Hat's head is sent flying will we round up Buggy, Alvida and their pirate crews."

"I'm sorry, please let me live." Luffy stated half-heartedly.

"As if I'd just let you go, you idiot!" Buggy shouted in anger.

"Hmph... this is only natural for all those who dare defy us." Cabaji said arrogantly.

"Has the man I so admired finally met his end?" Alvida wondered.

"Any last words? Might as well make the most out of this large crowd," Buggy asked to which Luffy merely grumbled, "well, whatever. Whether you have any last words or not, it ain't like anybody will care for what you have to s-"

"I'm the man who'll become the pirate king!" Luffy proclaimed to all who could hear.

"Wha!? The pirate king?" The townspeople murmured, "Saying that in this town of all places... how outrageous..."

"Is that all you have to say... you rubber brat!?" Buggy asked he reeled his sword back.

"Nghhh!" Luffy gritted his teeth as he prepared for the impact.

"Wait!" They could hear the cries of Sanji, Zoro and Naruto coming from the entrance to the town square.

"Sanji! Zoro! Naruto!" Luffy exclaimed, "Help me out here!"

"So you've come, Zoro? Naruto?" Buggy grinned, "But it seems you're too late!" There was a large commotion going on in the building where the marines had stationed.

"What is it?" Smoker asked.

"It's Roronoa Zoro! And the Demons Knight Naruto!" The marines cried.

"Demons Knight? Is that what he goes by?" The marine captain asked.

"That's what it said on the wanted poster." The officers explained.

"Roronoa Zoro's in this town!?" Tashigi yelled.

"What's that bounty hunter doing here now of all times!?" Smoker questioned.

"Well, that's... we've received reports that he and Naruto Uzumaki are members of the Straw Hat Pirates!" A marine officer told them.

"What!?" Smoker exclaimed. Back on the ground, the remaining members of the crew were attempting to break through the crowd of civilians.

"In any case, we've got to bring that execution stand down!" Zoro informed Sanji and Naruto as they rushed the stand.

"I know!" Sanji yelled.

"Take care of them, boys!" Alvida ordered as the Buggy Pirates jumped at them.

"As you command, Lady Alvida!" They cheered.

"Move it!" Zoro shouted as he, Sanji and Naruto easily dispatched of the enemies.

"Gyahahahaha! Just watch carefully from there!" Buggy announced, "Witness the last moments of your captain!"

"Bastard!" Sanji cried as he ran towards the stand, "Come down here and fight me, coward!", ' _If I can just kick down that execution stand!'_

 _'If I could just cut down that execution stand!_ ' Zoro thought.

 _'If I could just destroy that execution stand!_ ' thought Naruto.

"Have all units prepare for battle." Smoker commanded.

"Yessir!" The marines saluted.

"Zoro! Sanji! Naruto! Usopp! Nami!" Luffy listed his crewmates with a massive grin, "Sorry, but it looks like I'm dead."

"Wha!" Zoro exclaimed.

"Don't say that, you idiot!" Sanji shouted.

"C'mon Luffy!" Naruto yelled.

' _He smiled.'_ thought Smoker. Inches before the sword of Buggy would decapitate Luffy, a powerful surge of lightning struck the platform, burning it and Buggy in the process. It then started to rain heavily. Luffy's straw hat fell to the ground in the commotion. Luffy quickly burst out of the wreckage and placed his hat back on his head.

"Nahahahaha! Looks like I did survive!" Luffy laughed, "How lucky! Thank goodness."

"Hey... do you believe in God?" Sanji asked Naruto.

"I don't know, but if there is a God he must've been looking down on us today." Naruto replied.

"Enough talking and let's leave this town already," Zoro told the crew, "we've got more trouble heading our way."

"Surround the town square!" All the marines stationed at Loguetown ran towards the crew, "Corner all the pirates!"

"They're here!" Luffy cried, "Run for it!"

' _Why did he smile? Did he know that he would be saved!? No!_ ' Smoker thought, _'At that instant he realised that his very life would come to an end. He came to terms with this death... and smiled!'_

"Captain!" A marine officer alerted his boss, "Shouldn't we-"

"Hey... have you ever seen a pirate who smiled at his execution stand?" Smoker asked.

"S-smile!? I'm sure even the most wicked pirate would turn pale and cower at the moment of his death." The officer responded.

"But that's exactly what that straw hat boy did! He smiled!" Smoker exclaimed, "He smiled the same way that the pirate king did, 22 years ago in that very same spot! Where did they run off to?"

"They're headed for the western harbour." The marine officer informed.

"One of our squads should be there by now." Smoker stated.

"Welll, that's umm... the sudden rain has rendered their gunpowder useless, so they headed back to the station to resupply." The officer informed the captain.

"So the harbour is completely clear!?" Smoker cried, "The winds are blowing west... so if they were to set sail, they'd catch the tailwind. Is all this purely a coincidence!? It's as if the heavens themselves want that boy to survive! On the pride of a marine headquarters captain, I Smoker the White Hunter, vow to not allow that boy to escape this island!"

"Goddamn it! Why that flashy rubber brat with the luck of a devil!" Buggy shouted as he pulled himself out of the rubble.

"Captain Buggy! You survived the lightning!?" Cabaji questioned.

"Damn right I did!" Buggy replied.

"Buggy! These marines are from the headquarters!" Alvida informed the clown, "We'll be in a tight spot if some big-shot marine shows up!"

"Hmph, as if pathetic snot-nosed marines could ever defeat us," Buggy smirked, "it ain't over yet, boys! That rubber brat won't be able to leave this island! Not with the weather how it is! So let's finish'em off and haul ass outta here! Motor!" Men from his crew threw a set of wheels and a motor, Buggy reconfigured himself to become a small car and set off, " **Bara Bara Car!** Head for the western port!"

"The slope has been set!" The pirates informed Alvida as they held up a ramp, "Here you go, Lady Alvida!" The woman took off her sandals and slid down the ramp and then along the ground a the same speed as Buggy.

" **Sube Sube Spur!** " She cried as she followed after the clown pirate. Before they could get very far however, they were caught by a cloud of smoke, "Wha!? What's with this smoke!?"

"Aghh!" Buggy cried out in pain.

" **White Out!** " Smoker cried as he captured all the pirates at once, "I don't have the time to deal with you runts. Bring out my billoower bike!"

"S-so strong! So that's the Moku Moku no Mi's ability!" The townspeople exclaimed, "He caught Buggy's entire crew in an instant!"

"Damn that Smoker! We've all been rounded up, captain!" The captured pirates screamed as Smoker drove away in a wide bike with three wheels, two big ones in the rear and a smaller one in the front.

"What's with this weird iron net that they shot our with their guns?" asked Alvida.

"Since most of the big-name crooks are Akuma no Mi users, the marines have developed these 'seastone nets' to deal with them!" Buggy explained.

"The wind's getting worse." Naruto pointed out as he and the rest of the crew were running to the ship.

"Jeez, these guys are so persistent," Luffy talked about the marines chasing them, "should we just stop and fight them off?"

"Don't, there'll be no end to them," Sanji replied, "more importantly, Nami told us to return to the ship as fast as possible."

"Roronoa Zoro!" Tashigi stood ahead of them.

"Sergeant Major Tashigi!" The marines exclaimed with joy.

"To think that you were Roronoa Zoro!" She shouted towards the ex-pirate hunter, "And a pirate at that, too! You were just toying with me all along!"

"You bastard! What did you do to that lady!?" Sanji shouted at his crewmate.

"Never thought you were a marine..." Zoro stated.

"I shall take back that Wado Ichimonji!" Tashigi announced.

"Just try it," Zoro smirked, "go on ahead."

"Ok." Luffy replied as his swordsman and Tashigi crossed blades.

"Heh." Zoro grinned as they continued slashing at each other.

"That brute dares harm a lady!?" Sanji cried as Luffy was pulling him along.

"Let's go!" Luffy told him.

"The waves are crashing higher and higher!" Nami pointed out back on the Going Merry, "Are they still not back yet?"

"Still no sight of'em," Usopp replied, "I wonder if they're all right?" Back with Zoro, he finished the fight within seconds. He had her pinned up against one of the buildings with his sword.

"I can't hand over this sword to anyone... no matter what!" Zoro grinned.

"S-Sergeant Major Tashigi lost!" The marines exclaimed, "It can't be!"

"I'll be going on ahead then." Zoro said as he sheathed his sword and started walking off.

"Why didn't you cut me down!?" Tashigi cried, "Is it because I'm a woman? You dare go easy on me in a serious duel just because of the fact that women aren't as physically powerful as men!? How shameful! Of course, I shouldn't expect someone like you to ever understand what wishing to be born a man would feel like! But I know that I didn't pick up this sword for fun!"

"It's your damn existence that bothers me, not your gender!" Zoro yelled at the woman.

"Wha!?" Tashigi gasped.

"Your face is exactly like my friend who died long ago!" The pirate explained, "And now you go on spoutin' the same things she did! So stop copying her, you rip-off!" Tashigi blocked a strike from Zoro.

"Wha!? I've never heard anything so childish in my life before!" Tashigi argued, "I've always lived being me and only me my entire life! I have no idea who this friend of yours even is! In fact, I should be the one who's complaining here! Maybe she's the one who copied me!"

"What did you say!?" Zoro yelled. Luffy, Sanji and Naruto continued running, until they ran into the marine captain Smoker.

"Someone's up ahead!" Luffy shouted.

"Oh, it's him." Naruto stated.

"So you've come," Smoker blocked the pathway, "Strawhat Luffy and Devils Knight Naruto."

"Devils Knight? That's pretty cool." Naruto grinned.

"Who're you!?" Luffy shouted as the crew continued running.

"The name's Smoker," He introduced, "I'm a captain of the marine headquarters. And I won't allow you to set sail from here!" His arms turned into smoke and surrounded Luffy and engulfed him.

"Ahh!" Luffy cried, "W-w-what!?"

"Why you..." Sanji yelled as he rushed Smoker, "freak of nature!" He attempted to kick the marine, however, his leg simply went through the Akuma no Mi user, "Wha!?"

"I don't have time for runts," Smoker told the cook, " **White Blow!** " He shot out a cloud of dense smoke from his arm and blasted Sanji into one of the buildings.

"Sanji! Why you!" Luffy cocked his fist back, " **Gomu Gomu no Pistol!** " The fist connected with Smoker, however, he evaporated and appeared behind him holding the straw hat-wearing pirate's head.

"Are you really worth 52 million beli?" Smoker asked he pushed him to the ground.

"Agh!" Luffy cried.

"Hmph, looks like your luck's come to an end." Smoker was about to pull out his jitte before someone held it, preventing him from moving.

"Or perhaps not." The man said in a strong, powerful voice.

"You're..." Smoker started, in shock that a man of this calibre would be in the East Blue of all places.

"What!? Who's there!?" Luffy shouted.

"The entire government is after your head, you know." Smoker told him.

"The world awaits our answer!" The man said cryptically before a powerful surge of wind blew through the streets of the town, sending everyone flying.

"It's a gust!" The marine officers cried as Luffy got launched down the street.

"Luffy! Run for it or we'll be trapped on this island!" Zoro shouted as he picked up his captain, "A huge ass storm's coming in!"

"Ahh! What's going on?" Luffy asked.

"So this is what Nami was talking about!" Sanji shouted.

"Haha... go on then," The man spoke, "if that is your desire!"

"Why did you help him escape!? Dragon!" Smoker shouted.

"What reason do you have for preventing a man from setting sail?" The man, known as Dragon, asked.

"Luffy!" Usopp exclaimed as he saw his crewmates reach the Going Merry, "Hurry up! This rope won't hold for much longer!"

"Look at all this rain!" Luffy shouted.

"Nami, I'm back!" Sanji yelled.

"What took you so long!?" Nami questioned, "Hurry up and get on board! We're setting sail immediately!"

"Forgive us, sir!" The marines apologised to their captain back at the base, "Because of that sudden gust, the Buggy Pirates have managed to esca-"

"I'm continuing my pursuit for Strawhat and Uzumaki. Take out our ship." Smoker ordered.

"Huh, wha?" The marines questioned.

"I'll go to the Grand Line as well." Smoker informed the officers.

"I'm coming too, sir!" Tashigi told her captain, "I can't forgive that Roronoa Zoro! I swear I'll bring him down with my own two hands!"

"But sir! This town is under your jurisdiction!" One of the officers reminded, "What will the higher-ups say if they hear you abando-"

"You can tell them this," Smoker told the officer, "don't order me around!"

"G-Grand Line!?" The Buggy Pirates exclaimed from underneath cover.

"Yes, now's a good time," Buggy explained, "and I still have to settle things with that rubber brat. So we might as well go right in. Oh how long I've missed you... Grand Line!" Back on the Going Merry the crew were all eagerly awaiting the moment that they enter the magical Grand Line. They had heard about it so much leading up to this point and they all wanted to finally experience it.

"Yahoo! The ship feels like it'll flip right over!" Luffy exclaimed.

"You see that light over there?" Nami pointed out a lighthouse further away from them.

"You mean that lighthouse?" Naruto asked.

"It's known as the 'light of guidance," Nami explained, "the entrance to the Grand Line is just ahead of that light."

"D-don't you guys think that entering the Grand Line in the midst of this storm is a bit dangerous..." Usopp told the crew, extremely scared.

"So we've reached the Grand Line, have we? Well this calls for a celebration!" Sanji announced as he pulled a barrel of rum out for everyone to circle around, "To find the All Blue." He smirked as he placed his foot on the barrel.

"To become the pirate king!" Luffy exclaimed as he followed Sanji's lead.

"To be the greatest swordsman..." Zoro smirked.

"To be the best." Naruto stated.

"To draw a map of the world!" Nami smiled.

"T-t-to become a brave warrior of the seas!" Usopp stuttered. The whole crew had said they're vows and had placed their right foot on the barrel.

"Off to the Grand Line we go!" The crew cried as the strong waves crashed against the ship.

 **So there we go. Another chapter completed. Sorry that this was shorter than most of my other chapters, it's just that this story arc was pretty short compared to the others. Also the next chapter will be pretty short as well, but again, that's because of the length of the story arc. I just want to say something about the 'dream' that Naruto has. I know that it's pretty simple, basic and vague, but don't worry, I'll explain why he said it in later chapters. I hope you all enjoyed.**


	4. Reverse Mountain

"Nami, this is bad!" Luffy shouted as he was hanging upside down from the head of the Going Merry, "The light just went out! And that was our guiding light too! What do we do now?"

"Well it is only a lighthouse. It can go out from time to time," Nami explained, "besides it's for times like these you have a navigator, you know? So don't you worry. I know the basic direction at least."

"Wow, you're amazing." Luffy complemented his crewmate.

"More importantly, can you please get off from there!?" Nami demanded.

"No, this is my spot! You can't have it!" Luffy shouted back.

"When did I say I wanted it?!" Nami yelled back, "But this is rather troubling... at this rate, it'll be exactly as the rumours say... everyone come to the kitchen!" The crew obeyed her as she was the only one who had any idea of what they were doing. When they got there they each sat down except for Nami who was standing at the head of the table, "The entrance to the Grand Line is a mountain."

"A mountain!?" Luffy and Usopp exclaimed.

"Exactly. I had a hard time believing it myself when I looked at the map, but look!" Nami pointed out where they were on the map, "The light of the guidance was directly pointing at Reserve Mountain located right here on the Red Line."

"Does that mean we have to crash through the mountain?" Usopp asked.

"No, there's a waterway right here." Nami pointed to the map.

"A waterway? That's crazy! Even if that waterway really is there, there's no way a ship could climb up a mountain!" Usopp argued.

"But that's what the map says." Naruto told the sniper.

"That's right. As if what Nami says could ever be wrong!" Sanji wooed.

"But isn't that the map you stole from Buggy?" Zoro asked, "How dependable could it be?"

"Are we really gonna climb up a mountain on a ship!? That sounds so cool!" Luffy cried in excitement, "So it's a magic mountain, huh?"

"In the first place, why do we even have to enter directly through the entrance anyways?" Zoro asked, "Couldn't we just head directly south and still enter?"

"No we can't!" Luffy ordered definitely.

"That's right, and there's a perfectly good reason for that." Nami agreed with her captain.

"It's so much cooler to go in using the real entrance!" Luffy reasoned.

"That's not the reason!" Nami smacked the straw hat-wearing pirate over the head.

"Wait! Guys! The storm suddenly stopped!" Usopp informed the crew as he looked through a scuttle.

"Hey you're right." Sanji stated as he looked out at the sea.

"What? That can't be..." Nami said to herself, "that storm should have directly led us to the entrance..."

"Wow, such a nice day!" Luffy exclaimed.

"I wonder what happened to the storm." Usopp wondered. The seas were the complete opposite of what they were dealing with five minutes ago. Earlier they had to deal with thunder and lightning and huge waves crashing onto the ship. Now the seas were calm and the sun was out.

"Oh no! We've entered the Calm Belt!" Nami gasped.

"Calm Belt? What's that?" Naruto asked.

"Hey look, even though the storm's still going on over there it's perfectly calm over here." Zoro pointed out as they saw that the storm continued to rage on, just not where they were.

"This is no time to be just standing about! Go grab the oars and start rowing as fast as you can!" Nami ordered, "We have to return back to the storm immediately!"

"As you wish, Nami!" Sanji obeyed.

"What're you getting so worked up about?" Luffy questioned, "And you know this is a sail ship, not a rowboat, right?"

"Why would we even want to go back into the storm?" Usopp asked.

"Just shut up and do as I say!" Nami shouted.

"But the weather's so nice here..." Zoro complained.

"Fine, then I'll give you your explanation! Right now, we've drifted south exactly you suggested doing!" Nami started.

"Oh, so we're in the Grand Line now?" Zoro asked.

"If it were that easy, anybody could just come to the Grand Line whenever they wanted!" Nami yelled, "Listen! The Grand Line is surrounded by two ocean belts. And those two windless belts known as the Calm Belt are exactly where we're stuck in right now!"

"Calm, eh? Sure seems that way with no wind and all," Zoro commented, "so? What's your point?"

"The point is that-" Nami was interrupted as a tremor was sent through the ship.

"Ahh! Is this an earthquake?" Luffy asked.

"But we're out in the open seas!" Usopp cried. They all held on to the railing as they were lifted from the water and into the air. They looked down and saw that they were riding on top of the head of a gigantic sea king, many times bigger than the one they easily defeated at Arlong Park. They all gawked in fear.

"Holy shit..." Luffy whispered.

"This place is a den... for sea kings... especially the big ones." Nami cried to herself. The sea kings around the one they were riding on starting diving back into the sea.

"A-arlright... as soon as this thing dives back down into the sea, start rowing your arms off, got it!?" Zoro told his crewmates as they readied themselves with giant oars in their hands.

"Aye aye!" They nodded.

"A..." The sea king reeled its head back to the surprise of the pirates, "choo!" The beast sneezed with such power that the ship was sent flying into the air.

"Whaaaaa!?" The Straw Hats exclaimed as they were holding onto the ship, trying to make sure they didn't fall off.

"Ribbit." They saw a giant frog approach them with its mouth open.

"Aghh! A giant frog is jumping this way!" Luffy told the crew, "Don't get thrown overboard!" Usopp held on as hard as he could, desperate to keep away from the frog, however he couldn't stay on and was thrown over.

"Usopp just fell!" Naruto informed his captain.

"Usopp!" Luffy cried as he stretched out his hand to catch Usopp, narrowly saving him from certain death.

"Ahh!" The crew shouted as the ship landed back in the storm, escaping all the giant sea kings. The crew laid on the deck, tired and thankful to be back in the storm.

"Oh thank god..." Luffy panted, "we're back in the storm now..."

"Now do you understand why we have to use the entrance?" Nami asked as she laid facedown.

"Yeah... understood..." Zoro coughed.

"Ah, I got it!" Nami exclaimed.

"What?" Zoro asked.

"We really are going to climb up that mountain!" Nami stated.

"You still going on about that?" Zoro questioned.

"It must be due to the sea currents," The navigator explained, "if strong currents from each of the four seas were to all head towards that mountain then they would drive the water up the waterway. And at the very top, the currents will merge and come out to the Grand Line! Since we're already riding the currents, all we have to worry about is steering properly. Reverse Mountain is a winter island so the currents that hit its edge will travel down to the bottom of the sea. So if we fail to enter the waterway, we'll crash and get dragged down to the bottom of the sea. Got it?"

"So basically, you're saying that it's a magic mountain, right?" Luffy smiled at the prospect.

"I shouldn't have expected you to understand..." Nami sighed.

"Never heard of a ship going up a mountain before." Zoro said.

"I've heard a bit." Sanji grinned.

"About the mountain?" Zoro asked.

"No but I've heard things about the Grand Line..." Sanji smirked, "supposedly, half of the people die just trying to go in. Entering it is no easy task."

"I see the magic mountain!" Luffy told the crew.

"Wait! What's that huge shadow!? It's huge!" Usopp cried. Ahead of them was a massive earth wall that went higher than the clouds.

"So that's the Red Line?" Naruto looked upon the wall.

"I can't even see the top because of the clouds!" Usopp exclaimed.

"Get a good grip of the rudder so we don't get dragged down under!" Luffy commanded.

"Just leave it to us!" Usopp and Sanji yelled back.

"Amazing," Nami gasped, "I can't believe it..."

"It's the entrance to the waterway!" Naruto shouted as they saw the part of the ocean travel up the mountain.

"The ocean is... really going up a mountain..." Zoro had to pinch himself.

"We're veering off course! Turn a little to the right!" The pirate captain ordered.

"Right!? Turn starboard!" The sniper and the cook tried to push the rudder towards the right with as much strength as possible, in the process, they accidentally broke the rudder in half to the dismay of the whole crew.

"We're gonna crash!" Naruto shouted back to the crew to regain their attention as they were about to smash into one of the many gates leading up the mountain.

" **Gomu Gomu no...** " Luffy threw his straw hat to Naruto as he jumped over to the gate, " **Fussen!** " He inflated his body in order to deflect the Going Merry and his crew away from danger.

"We're saved!" Nami exclaimed.

"Luffy! Grab onto my hand!" Zoro held out his hand for his rubber captain.

"Nghh!" Luffy stretched out his hand and got pulled back onto the ship. Immediately they began dancing and cheering. They were all overflowing with happiness.

"We did it!" The crew cheered as they sailed towards the top of the mountain. They continued on that course until they reached the summit.

"Now all we have to do is go down!" Luffy exclaimed as they raced down the mountain, "Ohhh! I can see the Grand Line up ahead, the greatest sea in the world! Full speed ahead!'

"Buoooh!" They heard a loud noise surround them.

"Hm? Did you hear something just now?" Zoro asked.

"Who cares! Woohoo!" Luffy cheered, still ecstatic at the idea of entering the Grand Line.

"I wouldn't be surprised if that's just noise from the wind. The terrain here is quite odd after all." Nami explained.

"Buoooh!" The noise was heard once again.

"What's that..." Usopp looked through his sniper goggle.

"Nami! Theres a mountain ahead!" Sanji informed the navigator.

"A mountain?" Nami questioned, "That can't be! Once we pass the Twin Capes up ahead, we should reach the open sea."

"Buoooh!" The noise bellowed through the mountain.

"Hm?" Luffy squinted his eyes. As they started being able to see through the fog they realised that the mountain ahead of them was actually, in fact, a giant blue whale with loads of scars on its head, "It's a whale!"

"Buoooh!" The whale roared.

"What do we do!?" Luffy asked, "Should we fight!?"

"Are you kidding me!? How the heck are we supposed to fight something that big!?" Nami shouted at her captain.

"But it's blocking our way!" The captain justified.

"We're too close to see anything! It looks like just a giant wall!" Sanji stated, "Where are its eyes!?"

"Ah, that's right! Maybe the whale just hasn't noticed us yet!" Nami pointed out.

"Well if we don't do anything soon, we're gonna crash!" Zoro told the crew, "There's an open space up left! Turn portside!"

"But the rudder's broken!" Usopp cried.

"Well we've gotta do something!" Zoro shouted, "I'll come help too!"

"That's it! I've got a plan!" Luffy announced as he ran into the storage room and cannon deck.

"What is it, Luffy!?" Nami questioned.

"Left!" Zoro, Sanji, Naruto and Usopp cried as they tried to move the rudder to no avail, "Turn left!"

"It's no good! The rudder won't budge!" Sanji exclaimed. Before they hit the whale they heard the cannon go off and the whale give out a small groan, "The cannon!?"

"Good! I wonder if the ship stopped now." Luffy said to himself. However, this didn't stop the ship and as it hit the whale, the headpiece of the Going Merry fell backwards and narrowly missed Nami.

"Oh god... I almost died just now..." Nami gasped.

"My special seat!" Luffy screamed as he saw the headpiece on the deck. The crew looked up at the whale as it's giant black eye looked down on the pirates.

"Now's our chance! Run for it!" Zoro shouted as they sailed through the small open space he mentioned earlier, "What's with this thing!? Did it not even feel that cannonball just now!?"

"Maybe it's just really slow." Naruto replied.

"Who the hell cares! Let's just get outta here!" Usopp yelled.

"Buoooohh!" The whale roared much louder than the other times.

"Aghh, my ears!" Sanji cried.

"Row! Just row as fast as you can!" Zoro commanded, "We've got to get away from this thing now!"

"Huh?" Nami looked up to see Luffy standing on the bow of the ship.

"How dare you... destroy..." Luffy reeled his fist back and punched the whale right in the eye, "my special seat!"

"That idiot!" The crewmates exclaimed, "It saw us!"

"Fight me, you bastard!" Luffy held his fists up.

"Just shut the hell up already!" Usopp kicked his captain over.

"Buooh!" The whale cried as it opened it's mouth, capturing the pirates in it's tongue palate.

"Aghhh!" The pirates shouted as Luffy fell off the ship, "Luffy!"

"Ahh!" Luffy yelled as he grabbed hold of the whale's upper lip. He looked back to see his crew getting swallowed by the whale.

"Aghhh!" The pirates shouted as they went down the whales throat.

"Ah! I'm gonna fall!" Luffy pulled himself onto the head of the whale, "I ain't gonna die here!" The whale closed its mouth and there was a long silence, "What do I do now? Everyone was swallowed up. Hey you!" Luffy started pummeling the whale as hard as possible, "Give me my friends back! Cough 'em up!"

"Buooh!" The whale cried as it started lowering itself into the sea.

"Damn it! Planning to dive under the sea!? Wait!" Luffy demanded, "I said wait! Give me back my crewmates! We were just about to start our grand adventure! They're my important friends!" Just before the whale dived under, the pirate captain spotted a metal hatch on the surface of the whale, "Huh?"

Inside The Whale

"What.. is this?" Naruto asked his crewmates as they looked around the inside of the whale. Instead of seeing the stomach acid and various organs that one would expect, there was an island with a house and palm tree. And it seemed as though they were outside with blue skies.

"This has got to be a dream..." Nami said to herself.

"Then... what's with that house on that island?" Zoro asked.

"Must be an illusion..." Usopp responded.

"Then what about this?" Naruto asked as a giant squid raced towards them.

"It's a giant squid!" Usopp and Nami cried. Before the squid reached down, three harpoons pierced its head, killing it quickly.

"Seems like there's a person here." Zoro muttered.

"Let's hope it's a person." Sani stated as he lit a cigarette.

"B-by the way, where did Luffy go?" Usopp asked.

"I've had enough... I wanna go home..." Nami cried. The harpoons started dragging the squid to the house. While this was all going on Luffy had fallen through the hatch that he saw and found himself inside a tunnel in the body of the whale.

"What the..." Luffy mumbled, "Just what is all this? Why's there a door in a whale? And a hallway, too.." Back with the other members of the crew, they saw a man step out of the house.

"A ship..." The man muttered. He had a rather stocky and muscular body, he was bald on the top of his head, but with white hair with yellow flower petal-like things, that have purple near the bottom of them, and a white beard that splits in two parts and his lower lip being noticeably larger than his upper. He wore a pink shirt with a yellow and green horizontal stripe with purple circles in the yellow along with blueish-grey shorts with sandals. He also wore glasses, a seaweed necklace, three gold bracelets, and a green-gem bracelet on his left wrist. He also had a scar on his left arm.

"M-maybe we should just open fire!" Usopp suggested.

"Hang on, someone's coming out," Sanji told the crew, "it's a flower!"

"A flower!?" Zoro questioned.

"Wait, no! It's a person!" Sanji stated.

"What's with him?" Usopp asked, "That old man took out that giant squid with one blow! Was he just fishing or did he do that to save us?" The man looked intently at the crew, sizing up each one of them. There was a dramatic silence before he sat down on the beach chair.

"Say something!" Sanji shouted.

"I-i-if it's a fight you want, t-then you've got one!" Usopp pointed at the man, "We have a cannon on our side!"

"Don't, or someone might end up dead." The man warned.

"Oh? And just who would that be?" Sanji grinned.

"Me." The man went back to reading a newspaper.

"You!?" The cook shouted in anger.

"Now, now. Don't get so worked up," Zoro calmed down the cook, "hey old man. Would you mind telling us just who you are and just where this place exactly is?"

"It's common courtesy to introduce yourself before asking others questions, you know?" The man stated threateningly.

"Oh right..." Zoro nodded, "sorry about that."

"My name is Crocus, the lighthouse keeper of Twin Capes. I'm 71 years old, a gemini and type AB blood." The man, now known as Crocus introduced.

"Nobody minds if I kill him, right!?" Zoro yelled to the crew.

"Calm down." Naruto held the swordsman back.

"You're wondering where this place is? You first trespass in my private resort and then start mouthing off with that attitude!?" Crocus chided, "Does this place look like the stomach of a mouse!?"

"S-so then we really must've been swallowed by a whale." Usopp concluded.

"What do we do!?" Nami questioned, "I don't wanna be digested!"

"If it's an exit you want, it's right over there." The lighthouse keeper pointed to a large metal door constructed in the stomach wall.

"You can get out of here!?" Nami shouted, "Why is there an exit inside a whale's stomach? And how is it that door floating in the sky?"

"No wait... if you look carefully, the skies, and the clouds..." Usopp noticed, "are all just a painting! The inside of the whale's stomach has been painted over!"

"That's just my way of having a good time." Crocus explained.

"Just what the heck are you doing in here anyways!?" It was Usopp's turn to shout angrily at the man.

"Just leave him be. We've found an exit so let's just get out of here." Zoro held the sniper by his shoulder. Suddenly, the waves started getting rough and grew taller.

"What's that!?" Nami cried.

"So he's started again, has he..." Crocus muttered.

"Look! That's no island either!" Nami pointed to the island, "It's a ship! An iron one at that, too!"

"So then this ocean is actually stomach acid!? If we stay here any longer than this, our ship will be dissolved!" Usopp noticed, "Hey! What's going on! Give us an explantation!"

"This whale has started bashing his head against the Red Line again!" Crocus stated.

"What!?" Zoro and Sanji exclaimed.

"Now that he mentions it... I remember that whale's forehead was covered in scars!" Nami remembered, "And he was bellowing up at the sky!"

"What does it all mean?" Usopp questioned.

"It means he's suffering..." Nami answered, "I got it! He must be trying to kill this whale from the inside!"

"Now then..." Crocus said as he stood up from his chair.

"What a nasty way to kill something!" The sniper exclaimed.

"Well, if the mystery's been solved, let's leave already," Zoro told the crew, "we'll be dissolved if we hang around any longer."

"That's right. I don't have anything against whaling and it's not like we're obligated to save this whale, either. So let's just get out of here." Sanji said in agreement.

With Luffy

"Wha!?" Luffy cried as he fell down the tunnel, "What's going on!? Aghh!" Also in the strange inside of the whale was another man and a woman, both of which wielding bazookas.

"Alright, we've successfully managed to infiltrate this far inside! Listen up, Miss Wednesday. Beyond this door is the whale's stomach and that old man is probably inside as well," The man stated. He was a young man who wore a golden crown on top of his red hair and had the number nine written on his cheeks. He wore a green suit with white lace along with a ruffled red scarf. He had the attire of a prince or a king, "our mission is to eliminate that geezer... this is all for the whale!"

"Yes, Mr. 9. This whale is our town's sweet honey, after all." The woman, known as Miss Wednesday said to her compatriot. She had long blue hair that was tied up in a ponytail in a very high position. She wore a large coat with fur lining the neck with brown shorts with a circular belt.

"Ahh, my head is spinning!" Luffy shouted as he reached the end of the tunnel, "What!? A dead end!?" Luffy hit the wall head first and fell down to the sewer-like part of the whale's inside, "What is it this time? Is this an ocean or a river? Looks like a waterway of some sort... agh, I'm sliding down!"

With The Crew

"Hey, if this whale keeps on rampaging like this, it's going to be hard to even reach the exit!" Nami told the crew.

"Well if we don't hurry, our lives and Luffy's will be in danger," Usopp informed the pirates, "he's not inside with us. I saw him escape outside the whale's mouth!" While the sniper was talking, Crocus dived into the stomach acid.

"Ah!" Usopp cried, "That old man just jumped in! What's he trying to do!? He's gonna get himself dissolved!"

"He's swimming towards the exit," Naruto noticed, "we should hurry up and make our way to the exit before the whale gets anymore violent."

"We've got no choice but to row!" Zoro told the crew.

"Ok, Miss Wednesday. On the count of 3-2-1 baby, I'm opening the door. So don't lose your focus!" Mr. 9 instructed the blue haired woman from behind the exit door.

"Roger, Mr. 9. Ready when you are." Ms. Wednesday nodded.

"Aghhh!" Luffy cried as he was sprinting towards the door, "I can't stop, I can't stop! Please stop me!"

"W-who's that, Mr. 9!?" Ms. Wednesday questioned.

"I have no idea, Miss Wednesday!" Mr. 9 responded.

"Aghhh!" Luffy shouted.

"Aghhh!" The duo cried as well as they were pushed into the stomach of the whale.

"Oh no, Miss Wednesday! Below us is a sea of stomach acid!" The bazooka wielding man cried.

"Nooo!" Miss Wednesday screamed.

"Guys! You're alright!" Luffy shouted in relief.

"L-Luffy!?" Zoro sweatdropped as he saw his captain fall into the stomach acid.

"Well in any case, just help me out!" Luffy yelled as he and the other two splashed into the acid.

"Shit! Zoro, go get him!" Naruto instructed, "He's an Akuma no Mi user, he'll drown!" Zoro nodded quickly and kicked off his boots as he dove into the water.

"Oh yea, Sanji, you should probably get those other two." Naruto pointed out.

"Why?" The cook asked.

"Because we can get some information on the Grand Line from them, hopefully." Naruto explained. Sanji nodded and dove for the two.

"Hey! That old man's running away!" Usopp pointed out the man as he climbed up the ladder to another doorway.

"Let him be." Naruto told him.

' _Stop it, Laboon. Stop hurting yourself._ ' Crocus thought as he pointed a giant needle to the skin of the whale, "I don't have much sedatives left. Looks like I need to go make some more..."

"Buoohh!" Laboon cried as the needle struck the whale.

"That wall before you separates the oceans of the world," Crocus explained, "you won't be able to bring it down even if you keep on bashing it until you die! So please stop, Laboon."

"Buooh..." The whale moaned as it stopped bashing its head.

"The whale seems to have calmed down..." Nami noticed.

"Who are you." Naruto spoke to the blue haired woman and the prince-looking man with the rest of the crew standing behind him.

"M-mr. 9, these people are pirates." Miss Wednesday whispered.

"Y-yes I know, Miss Wednesday. But they seem understanding enough." Mr. 9 whispered back.

"Stop talking to one another," Naruto ordered, "who are you."

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Mr. 9 smirked, trying to act as confidently as possible. To which Naruto held him by the collar over the edge of the ship.

"I would actually," Naruto stated without emotion, "here's the thing. There are two of you, which means that if one of you dies then I've still got the other one to interrogate. So what I'm going to do is drop you down into the acid so you dissolve, then I'm gonna interrogate that girl and once I've got all the information I need out of her, I'll kill her too."

"P-please d-d-don't!" The man begged.

"S-stop please." The woman stuttered.

"Oh, what happened to that confident bravado you were showing just before?" Naruto grinned.

"Naruto, you don't need to be so intense." Usopp told the blonde pirate.

"Do you have a better idea?" Naruto asked.

"We'll tell you everything, just please don't kill him." Miss Wednesday begged.

"You better." Naruto threatened as he placed the man back down on the deck. Before he could continue interrogating the two, Crocus shouted from the doorway.

"I won't let you lay even a single finger on Laboon for as long as I live!" He announced.

"Who's that old man?" Luffy asked.

"Oh, he's back..." Usopp noticed.

"Fufufufu..." Miss Wednesday giggled.

"Oh... but we're inside the whale now..." Mr. 9 said as he and his compatriot fired their bazookas at the stomach, "it'll be only too easy to blast a hole in its stomach! We won't let you interfere in our whaling business any longer!"

"Damn rogues!" Crocus muttered as he jumped out, enabling him take in the full force of the attack, "Aghh!" He cried as he fell into the stomach acid.

"That old man took the blast with his own body!" Usopp exclaimed.

"What... so then, he's been protecting the whale!?" Nami gasped.

"Ohohoho! Cease your futile resistance!" Mr. 9 stated as he held up his bazooka, "Just try to protect the whale if you still ca-" He couldn't continue before Naruto started choking him.

"I was gonna let you live if you remained quite, but you didn't," Naruto told him as he pulled out his kunai, "but now I have to kill you, quite unfortunate... for you."

"Stop," Luffy held Naruto by the shoulder. The first mate looked up at his captain and after a few moments released the man, only for Luffy to knock both Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday out, "I'm not sure what's going on but I'll knock these guys out for now!"

Half an Hour Later

"This whale is an island whale, found normally in the West Blue. It's the largest species of whale in the world. This one's name is Laboon. And these two are rogues from a nearby town... their goal is to hunt Laboon because his meat can feed their town for two to three years, but I won't allow that!" Crocus explained as the pirates were sitting around him on the iron island with the Going Merry docked just by the house. The two bazooka wielding compatriots were knocked out and tied up just beside the lighthouse keeper, "As for why Laboon keeps on bashing his head against the Red Line and bellows while facing Reverse Mountain... there's a reason for all that too. Long ago, while I was minding my business as a lighthouse keeper, a certain group of friendly pirates came down Reverse Mountain. And following their ship was a little baby whale. That whale was Laboon. It seems that Laboon had accompanied their journey in the West Blue, but fearing that the Grand Line was too dangerous, they left him behind or so they thought. Normally, island whales are known to swim together in pods, but to Laboon those pirates were his pod members. Their ship was damaged when they arrived so they stayed here for several months to fix it. I became quite good friends with them during their stay. And so, on the day of their departure, their captain asked me, 'could you please take care of Laboon for two to three years? Once we've sailed around the world, we'll come back for him no matter what.' Understanding their intent, Laboon patiently waited for them here."

"So that's why he keeps on bellowing even today... and bashing himself against the Red Line." Nami realised.

"That's right... it's been over fifty years since then," Crocus told them to their shock, "he still believes his friends will come back..."

"Buoohhhh!" Laboon roared at the Red Line.

"So, if you would like to leave, I'll guide you out." Crocus told them.

"Thanks." Nami thanked as they all boarded the ship with Zoro carrying the unconscious enemies. However, Crocus remained on his beach chair.

"Aren't you getting on?" Sanji asked.

"No, it's quite alright." Crocus asked as he started sailing away by himself.

"Wow!" Luffy exclaimed as he saw the island itself move in the water. They sailed calmly to the exit, it was very similar to a sewer.

"This is some waterway," Nami told the lighthouse keeper, "I'm amazed you've managed to dig out such a big hole and live inside here. Is this another one of your ways of having a good time?"

"It's a hobby of mine as a doctor," Crocus explained, "Don't get the wrong idea. I may not look like much but I'm a real doctor. I even used to run a clinic at the cape long ago. Not only that, I've got a few years under my belt working as a ship doctor too."

"A doctor!? Really!? Then join my crew as a doctor!" Luffy told the elderly man.

"Stop talking nonsense. I'm too old to be doing reckless things unlike you youths." Crocus scoffed as he climbed up onto the walkways to the handle to unlock the gate.

"So you're a doctor, huh... and you're living inside a whale?" Nami questioned.

"That's right. With a whale this big, it's impossible to treat it properly from the outside," Crocus explained, "I'll open the gate now."

"Alright!" Luffy cheered as they exited the large whale, "We're out! I can see the real sky at last!"

"What should we do with these two?" Naruto asked as he pointed to the unconscious bazooka wielding enemies.

"Just throw them over somewhere." Luffy instructed, to which the blonde pirate did without hesitation.

"Ubagh!" Mr. 9 cried as they both regained consciousness from being splashed with water, "Where are we!?"

"Is this stomach acid!?" Miss Wednesday questioned.

"No, we appear to be in a real ocean, Miss Wednesday." Mr. 9 answered.

"We must've been knocked out by those pirates. Mr. 9!" The blue haired woman concluded.

"So... who were you guys again?" Luffy asked from the ship.

"Shut up! It's none of your business!" They both shouted.

"No wait, Miss Wednesday. Perhaps it is their business as long as they're pirates, that is." Mr. 9 pointed out.

"True indeed, Mr. 9. Our organisation may have some use for you. Prepare yourselves!" Miss Wednesday agreed.

"Then we bid you good day, you hillbilly pirates!" The prince-looking man told them as they swam off, "And heed this, Crocus! That whale shall be ours for the taking soon enough!"

"So her name is Miss Wednesday? What a beautiful enigma, you are." Sanji wooed as he watched her swim away.

"Huh? Did someone drop this or something?" Luffy held up a wrist watch with a glass orb sitting on top, and a needle floating inside the middle of that orb suspended from the top by a thin piece of wire.

"Are you sure about just letting them go?" Nami asked, "They'll be sure to come back for the whale again, you know."

"Even if I didn't let them go, there'll be other rogues who'll come to take their places." Crocus explained as the crew sat down at the bottom of the cape with the Going Merry docked beside them.

"But to think it's been waiting here for fifty years... does it still believe its friends will really return?" Usopp asked.

"Those pirates sure are taking a long time..." Luffy commented.

"You idiot, this is the Grand Line. They promised they'd be back in two to three years, yet they're still not back after fifty years... the answer's obvious. They're long dead by now. They won't come back no matter how long that whale waits..." Sanji told his captain.

"Why do you have to go and say such cold things!?" Usopp yelled at the cook, "You can't say that for sure! They still might come back! Can't you even appreciate such a moving story about a whale who still believes in his friends' promise!"

"The truth is far more cruel, however," Crocus told the crew, "those fellows left already. Left from the Grand Line that is. I heard from a reliable source."

"W-what!?" Usopp exclaimed.

"So they just left the whale behind!?" Nami questioned, "But that would mean they left the Grand Line through the Calm Belt!"

"Yes... that is why I do not know whether they survived or not," The lighthouse keeper explained, "but even if they did survive, they would never dare to return here again... a place where the seasons, climate, currents, and winds could not be any more chaotic... a place where common sense fails to uphold... that place is this sea, the Grand Line, and it rules with fear over the faint-hearted."

"So basically, those cowards were more concerned about their lives than keeping a promise, and thus left the Grand Line to never return again..." Sanji concluded.

"So they just abandoned the whale behind!?" Usopp yelled, "Even though this whale never doubted them and has been waiting here for over fifty years! How could they be so cruel!?"

"If that's the case, then why haven't you tried telling the whale the truth?" Nami asked, "This whale can understand human words, right!?"

"I have. I've told him the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. But he refuses to listen." Crocus replied.

"Refuses to listen?" Nami questioned.

"Laboon has been bellowing at Reverse Mountain and bashing his head against the Red Line as if trying to stubbornly assert that his friends are beyond the wall and that they'll return someday," Crocus explained, "I've tried telling the truth many more times since then, but Laboon refuses to accept the truth.

"What a whale... he still keeps on waiting even after being betrayed... even though there's no point in waiting anymore!" Usopp stated.

"That's exactly it... it's because he'll lose all reason that he refuses to listen. He's afraid of losing the meaning behind his waiting above all else," Crocus continued, "this whale's home is back in the West Blue, which is located on the other side of the Red Line. It's too late for him to go back. That's why his only hope are the very friends he came along with here in the first place."

"But you know, as much as I feel sorry for this whale and all, you've also been betrayed by them if you think about it," Sanji pointed out, "so why don't you just leave the whale be already?"

"Look at the scars on his head. If he continues to recklessly bash his head against the wall, he'll definitely die," Crocus stated, "we've had an odd relationship but he's still my companion that I've lived with for over fifty years. I can't just stand by and watch him die..."

"Uooohhh!" Luffy yelled as he jumped onto the Going Merry and ripped off the mast and proceeded to run up the whale.

"Huh?" Nami questioned.

"What's that idiot up to now?" Sanji asked.

"Take your eyes off him for one second and he does this..." Zoro sighed, "maybe he just likes climbing things?"

"Alright, I've reached the top!" Luffy said to himself when he reached the top of the whale which was littered with wounds, scars and blood, "Ah, there's a fresh wound! **Gomu Gomu no...** " He waved the mast up in the air and slammed it against Laboon's most recent wound.

"Buooohh!" The whale roared in pain and anger and started waving his head in an attempt to throw Luffy off, "Buoohh!"

"What the hell is he doing!?" The crew shouted, "He ripped off the mast!"

"Aghhh!" Luffy yelled as he held on for his life. Laboon stopped before he smashed his head against the ground, crushing Luffy in the process.

"Hey! Hey kid!" Crocus tried to grab hold of Luffy.

"It's too dangerous! Don't worry about him, he won't die!" Nami held back the man.

"Buoohhh!" Laboon cried as he saw Luffy get up.

"Heh, heh you big dummy!" Luffy reeled back his fist.

"Buooh!" Laboon roared as he rushed the rubber man.

"Take this!" Luffy punched the whale right in the eye, his response was getting sent straight into the lighthouse.

"What is he trying to do?" Usopp asked as he saw his captain and a whale get into a fight.

"Buooh!" Laboon roared once more as he and Luffy continued to fight for a good while. They were both pretty even. Laboon head butted the pirate captain into the lighthouse once more and he slid down to the ground.

"Luffy! Just what the hell are you doing!?" Zoro questioned.

"Buooohh!" Laboon cried as he prepared to finish him.

"It's a tie!" Luffy announced, "I'm pretty tough, eh? Our fight has yet to be settled, so we must fight each other again! Your old friends may be dead, but I'm your new rival! And once my crew sails around the Grand Line we'll be sure to come back here and see you again," The whale started getting watery eyes, "and then we'll duke it out again!"

"Buoohhh!" Laboon cried tears of joy.

"I didn't know whales could cry." Naruto stated.

One Hour Later

"Buooh." Laboon grunted as Luffy finished painting a very crude image of the Straw Hat Pirates jolly roger.

"And... done!" Luffy announced, "This will be a sign of our promise to fight again! So don't you bash your head against the wall and make it disappear by the time we come back, you hear!?"

"Buoooh." Laboon nodded in agreement.

"Good!" Luffy grinned.

"Alright then, time to chart out our navigation route." Nami set to work on her cartography.

"This elephant tuna is just perfect for cooking!" Sanji exclaimed as he started cutting up the fish he had bought back in Loguetown.

"How could that idiot just destroy our ship!" Usopp shouted as he patched up the mast back onto the ship, "Hey, I could use a little help over here, Zoro! I ain't no shipwright, you know!" Zoro simply snored away. Naruto sat on the railing of the Going Merry reading the book he had bought on chakra.

 _'Chakra is a form of life energy that all individuals produce to some degree; those who run out of chakra will die,'_ Naruto read to himself, _'produced within the 'chakra coils' that mainly surround and connect to each chakra-producing organ, the energy circulates throughout the body in a network called 'Chakra Pathway System' which is similar to the cardiovascular system._ '

"Ahhhh!" Naruto was interrupted from his reading by the loud shriek of Nami.

"What? You're being so noisy." Luffy told the navigator.

"What's the matter, my dear Nami!?" Sanji asked as he ran over to her while at the same time balancing four plates full of cooked elephant tuna, "If it's about the meal, then it's all ready!"

"Ugh... I'll take a brief break from the ship repairs and eat." Usopp moaned. Zoro continued to sleep soundly.

"The compass! It's broken!" Nami declared, "It's pointing all over the place!"

"Hmm... it appears you've come here without knowing anything," Crocus noticed, "I'm quite amazed. Did you come here to just throw your lives away? I've said before that common sense fails to uphold in this ocean. That compass isn't broken."

"Then is it the magnetic field?" Nami asked.

"Yes, there exists a geomagnetic anomaly across the Grand Line due to many islands here being rich with various minerals," Crocus explained, "Not only that, the currents and the winds here are as unpredictable as they can be. As a navigator, you should well understand how terrifying that can be. If you venture out into this ocean without knowing anything, you'll die for sure."

"True... without a reliable way to tell one's direction, it's all hopeless," Nami agreed while her crewmates were eagerly digging into the food that had been prepared, "I had no idea."

"What!? Isn't that like really really bad? Are we gonna be ok!?" Usopp questioned.

"Ah, Nami's so cute even when she doesn't know!" Sanji wooed.

"You two just quiet down!" Nami shouted at her crewmates.

"This elephant tuna is delicious!" Luffy exclaimed.

"To navigate through the Grand Line, you'll need a log pose." The lighthouse keeper told them.

"A log pose? I've never heard of it." Nami questioned.

"It's a special type of compass that records the magnetic field." Crocus explained.

"So it's a weird-looking compass?" Luffy asked.

"Well, it is rather oddly shaped as well." Crocus described it.

"You mean something like this?" The pirate captain held up the log pose that he had found a while ago.

"Yes, that's it," Crocus nodded, "without a log pose, it'd be impossible to navigate on this ocean. Of course, it is quite hard to obtain one outside the Grand Line."

"I see, but hang on just a second..." Nami turned to Luffy, "why the heck do you have one!?"

"Those two weirdos from earlier accidentally left it on our ship." Luffy explained.

"Them?" The navigator held up the log pose, "So this is a log pose... there's no marking on it or anything..."

"The various islands across the Grand Line all have their own magnetic fields surrounding them," Crocus explained, "so in short, you'll have to record the magnetic field interaction between any two islands before you can progress on to the next island. In this ocean where one can't use any normal means of path-finding, this log pose represents the only reliable way for one to find his way. From this mountain, you'll choose one out of seven magnetic fields to records, which'll lead you to different islands. But no matter which island you start with, the paths will all converge into one eventually... and the name of the very last island one can reach in the Grand Line is... Raftel, the final stop in the Grand Line. The only ones who've ever confirmed its existence in history is the Pirate King and his crew. It is an island of legends."

"Does that mean One Piece is on that island!?" Usopp cried.

"Who knows," Crocus replied, "although that is the most likely theory, nobody has ever reached there to confirm it."

"Enough thinking," Luffy told them all, "we can see for ourselves once we're there! Ahhh... should we get going now? I'm finished eating and all."

"Did you just eat everything all by yourself!?" The cook yelled.

"Aghh! Even the bones are gone!" Usopp exclaimed.

"Alright, log pose, I'll make sure to take good care of you. The fate of our journey is all up to you, after all." Nami said to the inanimate object.

"Why you rubber shit head! That food was...was..." Sanji kicked his captain across the ground, on his small journey he accidentally smacked the log pose out of Nami's hand, therefore smashing it to pieces, "for Nami to enjoy!" Nami looked down at the broken log pose without any emotion in her eyes.

"Haha! There goes Sanji's chance with Nami!" Naruto laughed with Usopp.

"You two can just go cool your heads down in the sea!" Nami exclaimed as she kicked them both into the sea, "What do we do, Crocus!? Our precious log pose is ruined!"

"Don't worry. I'll give you one as a sign of thanks for the matter with Laboon." Crocus smiled. Further out in the water, floating on a raft, were Miss Wednesday and Mr. 9, who was looking through a pair of binoculars at the crew.

"Well? Can you see them, Mr. 9?" The blue haired woman asked.

"I can't really make out what exactly happened just now but... I think that the woman has our log pose. I think that woman has our log pose." Mr. 9 informed his partner.

"How could you have been so careless to accidentally drop our precious log pose!" Miss Wednesday scolded her partner.

"I sincerely apologise for my error, Miss Wednesday. I know full well that we can't return back to our town without it." Mr. 9 apologised.

"We're already long overdue in our mission to catch the whale," Miss Wednesday stated, "if we don't hurry back and report to the boss, we'll be in some serious trouble."

"We've lost our weapons but we have no choice but to take it back by force. We can't just stand around waiting for the perfect chance any longer." Mr. 9 told his partner.

"Caw!" They looked upwards to see a large, black-feathered vulture with white feathers toward the neck. It's skin was pink and her beak was light yellow. It wore a yellow aviator cap dotted with red flowers, and black goggles. It was carrying a box with string attached to it. Sitting on top of the eagle was a small, brown-furred otter with white fur around his snout. He wore a long-sleeved, light blue coat with purple dots, as well as black sunglasses.

"It can't be... that's... the Unluckies!" Mr. 9 cried.

"Oh no, we're too late!" Miss Wednesday exclaimed, "Mr. 13! Miss Friday!"

"No wait! There's a perfectly good reason why we're late!" Mr. 9 pleaded, "It's all because those damn pirates interfered!"

"W-we were just on our way back to make a report to the boss! We haven't betrayed the organisation!" Miss Wednesday insisted. However, their best efforts weren't enough as the eagle dropped the present on the raft, causing a giant explosion. There was a long silence before the two of them sprung out of the water in much pain. Unfortunately for those two, they also rose out of the water onto the cape right next to Sanji and Luffy.

"Hm?" They all stated in unison. It didn't take long for Sanji to leap out of the water and lift up Miss Wednesday.

"Your hand, Miss Wednesday." The cook held out his hand for the blue haired woman.

"Why thank you." Miss Wednesday accepted his hand and let him lead her back to where the rest of the crew were.

"Hey!" Mr. 9 cried out, "I have a request."

The Lighthouse, Ten Minutes Later

"Whiskey Peak? What's that?" Luffy asked as Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday sat with the pirates.

"It's the name of our town." Mr. 9 answered.

"So you want us to take you there because you lost your ship?" Nami asked, "Don't you think that's asking a bit too much, Mr. 9? Especially considering you tried to kill the whale and all."

"Just who are you guys anyways?' Usopp asked.

"I'm a king." Mr. 9 stated, before Nami started pinching him on the cheek.

"Liar." Nami accused him.

"We cannot say!" The duo bowed their heads, "But please! Please take us back to our town and we swear we'll return the favour!"

"We'd really rather not keep things hush-hush about everything, but 'mystery' is our organisation's motto," Miss Wednesday explained, "and so we absolutely cannot tell you anything more. Please help us out from the kindness of your hearts!"

"Don't listen to them. They're nothing but trouble." Crocus advised.

"Well... we accidentally broke our log pose, but do you still want to ride?" Nami asked sheepishly.

"W-what!? You broke it!? And isn't that ours!?" Mr. 9 shouted, "How dare you try to take advantage of our misfortune when you're just as misfortunate as we are!?"

"Oh right! I forgot to mention that Crocus here gave us another log pose." Nami grinned.

"We beseech your kindness, madam..." The duo sighed, ' _Damn this woman! She was toying with us!'_

"Ok. They can come along if they want." Luffy accepted them.

"Alright then... your log should have been recorded by now," Crocus informed Nami as the crew hopped on the ship, "is it properly pointing towards a place indicated on the map?"

"Yup! It's pointing towards Whiskey Peak." The navigator replied.

"You sure about this, kid? Picking Whiskey Peak all just because of these ruffians... the only place you can choose which route you want to take is here, you know." Crocus pointed out.

"It's fine. If I don't like the route, I can always sail once around and choose a different route." Luffy told him.

"I see..." Crocus smiled.

' _Pukukuku! Idiotic pirates!_ ' Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday thought.

"Bye then, flower gramps." Luffy waved goodbye.

"Thanks for the log pose!" Nami thanked.

"See ya then." Crocus farewelled.

"We're going now, whale!" Luffy waved goodbye to Laboon.

"Buoooohh!" The whale farewelled the straw hat wearing pirate captain.

"Perhaps they're the pirates we've been waiting for... that captain has quite a mysterious aura about him," Crocus smirked, "what do you think, Roger?"

That Night

Miss Wednesday and Mr. 9 had been put in the storage room for the night so that they wouldn't bother the others. They had been tied up against a wooden pole that went through the room so they wouldn't escape. It was late into the night, yet they were still awake, contemplating on what was going to happen when they reached Whiskey Peak.

"Hey... what's gonna happen when Mr. 0 realises we aren't dead?" Miss Wednesday asked.

"I don't know, he'll probably kill us," Mr. 9 answered in a frightened manner. Before they could continue talking the door to the storage room opened to reveal Naruto, "W-what do you want?"

"Nothing much." Naruto told them as he walked in the room and knelt right in front of them.

"W-we're sorry about what we did." Miss Wednesday lied.

"I don't appreciate people lying to me," Naruto clearly caught up on this, "I just wanted to tell you that if you fuck us over again I will kill you both. No matter what Luffy says, but, don't worry about that, get a good sleep." He gave a cynical smile and walked out of the room as quickly as he had entered.

"Mr. 9..." The blue haired woman alerted her partner.

"Yeah?" The prince-looking man responded.

"I think we should just stay quiet until we get there." Miss Wednesday suggested.

"Yeah, let's go to sleep." Mr. 9 told her before they slowly gave in to the sweet bliss of sleep.

 **There we go. Another chapter done. The amazing thing is is that I managed to get this done in one day. I hope that you like the chapter. In all honesty, I think that's its one of the weaker chapters of mine. And re-reading it and editing it was incredibly boring, mainly due to the lack of action. I apologise that this chapter was heavily dialogue based without much action, but I can guarantee that the next chapter will have a lot more action.**


	5. Whiskey Peak

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece or any of the characters, all rights go to Eiichiro Oda**

The Straw Hat Pirates continued their adventure on the Grand Line. The climate of today was winter with a little spring from time to time. After leaving Twin Capes at the base of Reverse Mountain the ship headed for Whiskey Peak.

"There we go," Luffy grinned as he placed a piece of wood on a snowman he was building to form the nose, "done! The man who fell from the sky, Mr. Snowman!"

"Hahaha... such childish snow games..." Usopp taunted before he presented his own snow sculpture of a woman sitting on a sofa, "behold! My masterpiece in snow art! The Snow Queen!"

"That's amazing!" Luffy gawked before he pushed out one of the wooden arms of his snowman and threw it at the snipers sculpture, " **Snowman Punch!** "

"The hell was that for!?" The angry Usopp jump kicked his captains snow creation.

"Gahhh! Mr. Snowman!" Luffy cried.

"Jeez, how can those two be so lively when it's so cold out?" Nami questioned from inside the kitchen.

"Nami! How much longer shall I continue my snow shovelling of love?" Sanji asked.

"Until it stops snowing." Nami answered.

"Yes, ma'am!" The cook wooed. On the other side of the ship, Zoro was training with his shirt off with Naruto sitting on the railing reading his book once again.

"What's with that book?" Zoro asked as he swung his sword, "You've been reading it ever since we left."

"I want to learn about it," Naruto answered, "and why aren't you wearing a shirt?"

"In this weather, it will be better for me if I don't have a shirt, because then the training will be more rewarding." Zoro explained with very flawed logic.

"If you say so." Naruto sighed as he went back to his book, _'Certain groups of people have learned to generate more chakra and release it outside their bodies through presure points called tenketsu in order to perform jutsu. Chakra is not normally visible to the human eye, though it can be seen in situations where a person releases as much of their chakra as possible. This is rarely seen due to the restrictions of eight specific tenketsu known as the Eight Gates, which limit the amount of chakra an individual can release at a single time.'_ He was interrupted from his reading by a crackling lightning strike on the sea.

"Lightning? But it's snowing?" Zoro questioned.

"Yeah, this is what happens on the Grand Line." Naruto informed the swordsman.

"Right, you said you were born here," Zoro recalled, "was it always like this where you were?"

"It was normally sunny but sometimes it got cold and there was snow on some occasions, but not many." The blonde pirate explained.

"Ahhhh!" The heard the shriek of Nami as she rushed out of the kitchen.

"W-what is it?!" Luffy questioned.

"What's the matter, my beloved Nami!?" Sanji asked.

"This can't be happening! Turn the ship around 180 degrees! Hurry!" The navigator ordered.

"180 degrees? Why're we turning back?" Usopp wondered.

"Did we forget something?" The pirate captain asked.

"No! The ship turned itself around and is now heading directly away from our destination!" Nami explained, "I only took my eyes off of the log pose for a second and the waves were so calm too! Catch the wind from the right side! We'll use it to turn the ship around 180 degrees to the left! Usopp, you take the jib sail! Sanji, you take the rudder!"

"Just leave it to me, Nami!" Sanji exclaimed.

"And be quiet!" Nami demanded.

"Hey, wait! The winds just changed!" Usopp informed the navigator.

"That can't be!" Nami yelled in shock.

"Zoro! Naruto! Help, we're in an emergency!" Usopp demanded of the two.

"Hey, I see a dolphin jumping over there!" Luffy pointed out, "Let's go check it out!"

"You just stay quiet!" Nami ordered.

"The waves are getting higher!" Usopp told the navigator, "And now there's fog!"

"Iceberg spotted at ten o'clock!" The cook informed Nami.

"What is wrong with this ocean!?" Nami exclaimed as the ship hit the large piece of ice emerging from the surface of the sea.

"We just grazed the iceberg!" Naruto told the orange-haired pirate.

"There's water leaking in the lower deck!" Luffy told the crew.

"Hurry up and seal it up then!" Nami instructed her captain.

"On it!" Usopp nodded as he went to repair the leak.

"The clouds are moving too fast! Raise the sails!" Nami ordered, "The winds are too strong! The sail's tearing!"

"We've got another leak on the lower deck!" The captain told the sniper, acting as the fill-in craftsman.

"Dammit!" Usopp yelled.

"Nami, where's the compass pointing to now!?" Zoro shouted through the scuffle.

"It changed again!" Nami replied to the dismay of the crew.

"Where's some rope!?" Naruto shouted out.

"Here!" Sanji threw a bundle of rope at the young pirate. Naruto caught the rope and tied it up to the repaired head of the ship and jumped off the Going Merry, with the rope still in his hand.

"What are you doing!?" The navigator exclaimed in worry and fear for him.

"Direct me!" Naruto shouted back up at the ship as he started running on the surface of the water.

"H-he can walk on water?" Sanji gawked, "I-is he Jesus?"

"O-ok, just drag us to the right!" Nami instructed Naruto as he dragged the ship with all of his might, "Now just go forward!" Naruto sprinted as fast as he could with the Going Merry behind him. Naruto gritted his teeth as his muscles ached in pain, but he had to keep going, he would be damned if they died just because they got lost at sea.

"Ahhh! A sea king!" Usopp shrieked as a giant green serpent-like sea king arose from the sea, "Naruto look out!"

"Goddamn it!" Naruto exclaimed as he looked dead into the eyes of the sea king, " **Akuma no Yoru!** " His eyes turned into that of a fox, however, instead of the sea king becoming unconscious, as all the previous enemies did, the serpent-like sea creature simply stared at the pirate, "Shit!" Naruto exclaimed as he continued to run towards the monster before he threw the rope back up to Usopp.

"What are you doing!?" Usopp shouted as Naruto ran at full speed at the sea king. Naruto jumped at the sea creature and generated as much of his power into his right hand, so much so that it started glowing a faint blue colour, and then punched it in the middle of its serpent-like body, " **Akuma Fokkusu Ken!** "

"Grawwww!" The sea king roared in anger as it attempted to chomp down on the pirate, but at the last second Naruto dodged the attack and started running up the sea king's back. Once he got on top of the head, he knelt down and gently placed his hand on the slimy sea king.

"Might as well try this out," Naruto said to himself as he took a deep breath of air, " **Maindo Hakai! (1.)** " The monstrous sea king suddenly stopped all its thrashing about and stood completely still.

"What's going on?" Luffy asked, "It's not moving."

"Graw..." The sea king gave a quiet moan as it crashed into the water, dead. The huge waves created from the sea monster's crashing smashed right against the Going Merry.

"It's gonna capsize!" Nami cried. The ship was about to flip over completely before it stopped, Usopp looked over the edge of the boat to see Naruto pushing it back in the right place.

"Arghh!" Naruto screamed as he had to overpower the power of the huge waves, "N-Nami! Which way!?"

"What?" The navigator questioned.

"Where do we have to go!?" Naruto shouted as he could feel his muscles tearing.

"W-we need to keep going straight! B-but with the sea king taken care of we can just sail normally!" Nami explained, "Ahh!" The whole crew could feel the ship being slowly lifted up.

"Nghhh!" Naruto cried as he used all his strength to lift up the pirate ship, "Ah!" He then threw it as far as he could in the direction that Nami had told him.

"Ahhh!" The crew shrieked as they landed on the water, out of the immediate danger and back on course to Whiskey Peak.

"Naruto!" Luffy shouted out to his long time friend. Naruto staggered over to the ship as fast as he could, which at the time wasn't very fast.

' _Fuck... I"m gonna drop soon.'_ Naruto thought to himself.

"Grab on!" The pirate captain stretched out his arm to his first mate, Naruto held on tightly as he got flung back on to the ship, unconscious.

"C-can... we...h-have... lunch?" Naruto panted heavily.

"S-sure!" Sanji exclaimed as they all congregated in the kitchen, with Luffy carrying Naruto who was far too exhausted to walk.

"Zoro, go get those two from the storage deck." Luffy told his swordsman.

"Sure." Zoro said as he left the other crewmates. While they were sitting down and waiting for their meal to be ready, they were talking about the events that had just occurred.

"This is a lesson for all of us," Nami started, "don't let your guard down, everyone! You can never expect what might happen out here! I finally understand just how terrifying this ocean truly is, as well as why they call it the 'Grand Line'! I understand because all of my navigation skills have failed to work!"

"Uhhh... are we gonna be fine?" Usopp asked nervously.

"We'll be fine!" Nami stated confidently, "Things will work out one way or the other."

"Ok... anyway, Naruto, what was that?" The sniper asked, "The sea king just stood still and died. What did you do?"

"I've been thinking for a while about my abilities," Naruto started, still exhausted from the physical labour, "and I originally thought that I could just control my own energy, or... chakra as I'm started to learn, but after the incident with Mihawk when he told me to get more creative, I thought that maybe, just maybe, there would be a possibility of being able to control someone else's energy externally. I haven't reached that level yet, but I have been trying to learn how to overpower someone's, or in this case something's, mind."

"So you pretty much have mind control!" Nami exclaimed.

"No, nothing close to that, it's just that when I do overpower someones mind I guess I just, turn it off," Naruto explained, "but I do wonder if one day I could control someone's mind. That'd be cool."

"Back." Zoro announced as he entered the room with Miss Wednesday and Mr. 9 came in as well.

"What was going on!?" Mr. 9 exclaimed as the crew noticed some dried up blood in his hair along with multiple cuts and bruises.

"We got into some trouble with navigating but it's all good now." Nami answered.

"Hmm... there's something sinister about your faces..." Zoro grinned as he sat down and inspected the duo as they too sat down at the head of the table next to one another, "what did you say your names were again?"

"M-Mr. 9..." The prince-looking man answered.

"And I'm Miss Wednesday..." The blue haired woman replied.

"Right, something about those names have been bugging me ever since I heard'em... I feel like I've heard it before... or not..." Zoro scratched his head.

"Nami, Miss Wednesday here is the meal prepared by my pure love alone, I hope you enjoy and savour the taste... " Sanji wooed as he held up the plates full of delicious meat and vegetables.

"Thank you, Sanji." Nami graciously took the meal and started eating.

"Why, thank you, Mr. Cook." Miss Wednesday smiled as she followed the navigators lead.

"Here's yours." Sanji stated in a completely different tone as he placed down the plates in front of the men, whom started digging in without the need of cutlery. They all ate the food, each of them very thankful that they had a cook as good as Sanji.

"Hey, everybody look!" Nami called as she looked out the scuttle as everyone gathered around here.

"The first leg of our journey is over," Luffy announced, "I see giant cacti!" Everyone on board rushed onto the deck with Luffy jumping onto his 'special seat' to see an island with several cactus-shaped mountains with many spikes all over them.

"Thank God we've arrived alive!" Mr. 9 exclaimed as he and his partner jumped onto the railing, "Now then we ask you please drop us off here!"

"Thank you for taking us here, my honeys!" Miss Wednesday thanked, "If fate wills it, then let us meet again!"

"Bye, bye baby!" The duo said in unison as they dove off and swam the rest of the way.

"They're gone..." Usopp sweatdropped.

"Just what is up with those two?" Luffy asked.

"Forget about'em! Prepare to land!" Nami told the crew.

"There's a river right up ahead," Naruto pointed out, "looks like we can dock inland."

"T-there wouldn't be any monsters on this island now, right!?" Usopp asked in a scared manner.

"Considering this place is the Grand Line and all, I'd say there is a good possibility." Sanji answered.

"Well, we can always fight if that's the case." Luffy grinned.

"Wait just a second!" Nami commanded, "Don't forget that we have to stay on this island for a certain amount of time."

"Why?" The captain asked.

"This log pose has to record this island's magnetic field before we can move onto the next island!" Nami explained, "And the recording time varies for each island. They're some islands that take only a few hours to record, while some take even a few days."

"T-then even if we come to a horrible monster island that we want to run away from it's possible that we'll have to stay on it for several days!?" Usopp questioned.

"That's right." Nami nodded.

"Well, we'll worry about it when it happens," Luffy smiled, "so let's just go already! It'd be weird not to go in when there's a river in front waiting for us!"

"For you, maybe..." The navigator muttered.

"No, what he says is right," Zoro agreed, "there's no use in worrying about it so let's just go."

"I'll protect you, Nami!" Sanji wooed.

"H-h-hey guys... listen... I uh... I think I've suddenly developed a can't-enter-islands-disease." Usopp told them in an attempt to stay on the ship.

"C'mon, stop making some a big deal out of it and let's go." Naruto told them.

"Ready?" Nami asked the crew, "Be prepared to fight or run at a moment's notice."

"Huh, isn't that a pirate ship?" Voices from the shore started murmuring, "Yeah! It is a pirate ship!"

"I can hear people," Naruto alerted the crew, "but this fog's too thick to see them."

"People!? You sure it's people!?" Usopp exclaimed.

"Go tell the others! Pirates are here!" As the fog began to dissipate the crew saw hoards of people rushing to the shore and started cheering on the pirates.

"Welcome to the Town of Welcoming, Whiskey Peak!"

"Pirates!"

"Welcome to our town!"

"Welcome to the Grand Line!"

"Oh?" Luffy beamed at the sight.

"Huh? Not only are there no monsters, but there're people greeting us." Usopp was very surprised.

"What's going on?" Sanji questioned.

"Don't lower your guard." Naruto warned.

"Long live the brave heroes of the sea!" The crowd cheered once again.

"T-there's a bunch of lovely ladies too!" Sanji wooed as he saw of the women.

"Talk about a warm welcome!" Usopp exclaimed, "Looks like pirates really are the people's heroes!"

"Yahoo!" Luffy waved his arms to the people.

"Welcome. My name is Igarappoi," A tall man with a small red nose and blonde hair in a style that resembled the traditional wigs. He dressed like a gentleman with a white collar shirt with a double breasted suit over it with a necktie. He wore rolled up jeans with beads at the bottom and black shoes. He was holding a golden saxophone, "you may be a little shocked at the welcome, but this is Whiskey Peak, a town of liquor and music. Hospitality is our middle name. If it's fine liquor you want, we have an ocean's worth. So please, I cordially invite you to our banquet. And hope that you may treat us with tales of your adventures."

"Gladly!" Usopp, Sanji and Luffy put their arms around each others heads and started skipping through the town.

' _The idiot trio...'_ Nami thought to herself, "Ah, by the way, how long will it take for this island's log to be recorded?"

"Log?" Igarappoi raised an eyebrow, "Please put aside thinking of such weary matters for now and focus on resting from your journey! Everyone! Prepare the banquet! And let us sing to our heart's content for these adventurers!"

"Alright, time for a party!" The people cheered.

' _This is too good to be true...'_ Naruto thought as he doubted the sincerity of the mayor and the townspeople.

That Night

Even late into the night, the welcoming party at Whiskey Peak continued with all members of the Straw Hat Pirates indulging in various activities.

"And so I coolly said to him," Usopp recalled his drunken tale, "don't you dare lay a hand on my crewmates, you sea king bastards!"

"That's so cool, Captain Usopp!" The women wooed over the pirate.

"Well, to be perfectly honest, even I trembled during our escape from the Calm Belt... trembling with excitement that is!" Usopp boasted.

"Ah!" Zoro thunked his jug of rum on the table.

"You win." The man next to him groaned as he fell on the table in front of them.

"Amazing! This man outdrank ten people!" The people cheered.

"Hahahaha!" Nami laughed as she wiped some remaining alcohol from her lip.

"And this lady here outdrank twelve people!" The townspeople exclaimed, "What a couple of heavy drinkers!"

"More!" Luffy demanded from the cooks as he held up his plate. He had filled his rubber body up so much that he became inflated in the same way as when he becomes a balloon.

"Holy moly! Here we have their captain who's eaten enough food for twenty people! The cook just collapsed!" The people shouted out as they partied, "And would you take a look at this ladykiller!" They pointed towards Sanji, "He's flirting with twenty women all by himself! What a pirate crew!" Sitting next to the cook sat Naruto who was trying to read his book.

"Can you get off?" He asked the women who were crowding around him.

"C'mon Naruto!" Sanji patted his crewmate, while being heavily inebriated, "You're young, you gotta be getting with the ladies!"

"Whatever." Naruto muttered as he continued trying to read, ' _Chakra is created when two other forms of energy, known collectively as one's 'stamina', are moulded together. Physical energy is collected from each and every one of the body's cells and can be increased through training, stimulants, and exercise. Spiritual energy is derived from the mind's consciousness and can be increased through studying, meditation, and experience.'_

"Hahahaha! What a festive night this is!" Igarappoi laughed, "Your enjoyment means the world to us! Truly... it means the world..."

"I'm going outside." Naruto stated as he got up from his seat.

"No please, I implore you to stay and enjoy yourself." The mayor insisted, only to be given the cold shoulder by the blonde pirate as he walked outside. Naruto climbed up the inn and tried to read before he noticed an interesting sight from inside the building opposite him. It was Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday writing a letter.

"I wonder what this is?" Naruto grinned as he stealthily hopped over and peeked through the window and eavesdropped on the two.

"Umm... and so... although we were unsuccessful in our task to secure food for the town..." Mr. 9 repeated what he was writing down to his partner, "to make up for our blunder, we have succeeded in... luring those pirates to Cactus Island... thus ends... our report... yours sincerely, Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday," Mr. 9 folded up the letter, "good... if we send this to the boss, I'm sure we'll be cleared of our shame."

"Yes. So let's hurry up and put our report in the Unluckies' box," Miss Wednesday said as she took the letter and placed in in the letter box with the image of an eagle with an otter on top of it, along with the skull and crossbones and the word 'Baroque' written above it, "they'll be sure to deliver our report directly to the boss..."

"What's Baroque?" Naruto revealed himself to the duo.

"Ahhh!" They both screamed, especially Mr. 9 who remembered the threat and what the pirate did to him.

"Please tell me," Naruto sat down in front of them, "I'm dying to know," He noticed Mr. 9 start reaching over to one of the two steel bats in the corner of the room, "don't even try it."

"Y-y-y-y-yessir!" Mr. 9 sat still, hairs standing on the back of his neck.

"W-what do you want?" Miss Wednesday asked, deathly afraid.

"I just want to know what this 'Baroque' is." The pirate told them.

"I-I'm sorry, but we can't say." The blue haired woman replied before she got pinned against the ground by Naruto.

"You're not understanding the situation you're in," Naruto grinned as he held a kunai against the woman's neck, "you don't have the option to not answer."

"P-p-please don't kill me!" Miss Wednesday pleaded as she closed her eyes.

"I won't if you answer my questions truthfully," Naruto told them both as he sat back up, "and don't try to lie to me. If you do, I'll kill you."

"O-ok," Mr. 9 gulped, "B-Baroque Works is an organisation and we are agents of the same organisation."

"What's your main goal?" Naruto interrogated.

"A-as agent's our main goal is t-" Miss Wednesday began.

"I don't care about your goals, what does the organisation want, what does your boss want?" Naruto told them.

"B-Baroque Works gets the agents to g-go do many criminal activities, like thieving and killing." Mr. 9 answered.

"Why?" The blonde pirate asked.

"T-the boss said it's to create an i-ideal nation." Miss Wednesday stated.

"An ideal nation? Who's the boss?" Naruto asked, to which there was a long silence, "Answer me!"

"W-w-we don't know," Mr. 9 stated, "he lived secretly. He makes sure that no one besides his partner knows who he is." Before Naruto could continue there was a loud knock on the door.

"Oi! Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday!" There was a soft high-pitched voice from the other side of the door.

"Don't tell them I'm here." Naruto told them as he hid in the cupboard.

"Come in!" Mr. 9 welcomed. In through the door came the mayor of the town, Igarappoi, followed by a tall, muscular woman with dark skin and pink hair pulled into short twin-tails. She wore a short dress with a magenta and white diamond pattern, with three green flowers.

"Why weren't you at the meeting point?" Igarappoi questioned as he leaned against the same cupboard Naruto was hiding in.

"Sorry, we forgot," The blue haired woman replied, "we were thinking about how we can kill off those pirates."

"Well, that's alright, they've already fallen deeply into hell." Igarappoi smirked.

"Oh dear lord. Hic! That bunch sure knows how to eat and drink. And I was only drinking sparkling barley tea!" The woman exclaimed, "Is there really even a need to stage this whole welcome party in the first place? I mean, they're only a bunch of weak-looking brats!"

"Miss Monday..." The mayor sighed.

"We should've just crushed them at the harbour. The town is short enough on food as it is already," The woman known as Miss Monday suggested, "and it's not like we can count on getting that whale meat either."

"Don't you talk that way about us!" Miss Wednesday shouted.

"That's right! We tried our best, you know!" Mr. 9 continued.

"Now, now. Just calm down for now and take a look at this. I've done my homework about this crew." Igarappoi showed them the two wanted posters of Naruto and Luffy.

"W-what!? 52 million and 38 million beli!?" They all shrieked at the sight.

"To judge a pirate's strength from his appearances alone is quite foolish, Miss Monday." Igarappoi chided.

"Them!?" Mr. 9 squealed as he looked back at the cupboard where Naruto was hiding in.

"My apologies..." Miss Monday held her head in shame.

"But in any case... they're already out cold. This should make an excellent report for the boss. Now go confiscate any money or treasures on their ship and tie them all up!" Igarappoi ordered, "If we kill them, we'll lose thirty percent of the bounty money. The government would rather do public executions of criminals, after all."

"M-Mr. 8! Miss Monday!" One of the townspeople burst into the room, "One of their crew has escaped!"

"What!?" Igarappoi, also known as Mr. 8, exploded, "Where is he!? And where is that other kid!?"

"I don't know! I'm gonna go get him and kill him!" Miss Monday announced as she ran out of the door with Igarappoi following her. When they were out of the house, Mr. 9 and Miss Monday opened the cupboard up to see a giant hole in the wall and Naruto gone.

"W-where did he go?" Mr. 9 questioned.

"Why you!" They heard Mr. 8 yell in the streets. The duo ran after the mayor and stood next to him, looking up at Zoro who was sitting on top of a building, "Weren't you passed out cold after all that drinking just a moment ago!?"

"A true swordsman never allows alcohol to take control to himself," Zoro grinned at the Baroque Works agents, "so that's how it was... this place is a den of bounty hunters and you take advantage of the overconfident newbie pirates who've just entered the Grand Line," The swordsman looked down on the bounty hunters that gathered beneath him, "Looks like there's about a hundred of you. You'll be a fine opponent for me, Baroque Works."

"Wha!? How do you know the name of our organisation!?" The bounty hunters exclaimed.

"Back when I was in the same line of business as you, a certain organisation tried to scout me but I refused, of course," Zoro explained, "an organisation whose members don't know a thing about each other's real identities and must refer each other by their codenames. And of course, the boss' location and identity are a mystery as well. A criminal organisation that asks for complete obedience from its members: Baroque Works. Heh... was that supposed to be a secret? Also a little birdy told me."

"Hey." Naruto waved his hand at the bounty hunters from the top of the same building.

"This is quite a shock... but if they know our secret, then we have no choice but to eliminate them..." Mr. 8 stated, "another tombstone must be added to Cactus Rock tonight! Kill them!" When they looked back up to the building they couldn't see them, "Where'd he go!?"

"Fifty each?" Naruto suggested from within the crowd of bounty hunters, to their shock.

"Sure!" Zoro grinned, "Now then... shall we get things started?"

"You bastard! Shoot!" The bounty hunters yelled as they shot their flintlocks at the two of them, however, at the last second they ducked, causing the bounty hunters to shoot each other.

"You fools!" Igarappoi shouted.

"They disappeared again! They're too fast!" The bounty hunters stated.

"Hurry up and kill them! It's only a swordsmen and a kid!" The mayor shouted before he stood still when Zoro placed his katana straight through his hair and stood back to back with the mayor.

"Are you sure it'll be easy?" Zoro grinned.

"There he is!" The bounty hunters exclaimed as they rushed Zoro with their flintlocks, unaware of Mr. 8.

"S-stop you fools!" Igarappoi demanded, "Are you planning to shoot me too!? I said stop!" The mayor, knowing that they weren't gonna stop, pulled his saxophone up to his lips and blew, " **Igarappa!** " As he blew the saxophone a blast of bullets were fired like a giant shotgun, injuring many of the bounty hunters.

"Whew... was that a shotgun? Talk about dangerous..." Zoro sighed from behind a building with Naruto, "it looks like we'll have to deal with him personally."

"I'll take the mayor and the blue-haired girl, and you take the big girl and the prince, sound like a plan?" The blonde pirate suggested.

"Yeah, plus the other grunts." Zoro reminded.

"Where did those two disappear off to now..." Miss Monday wondered, "are they seriously planning to take on all of us, all by themselves? It doesn't seem like they truly understand the power of Baroque Works."

"Now then... this'll be an excellent chance to test out my new boys," Zoro grinned as he unsheathed his blades, "no need to hold anything back, boys."

"Found him!" A bounty hunter called from above them, however, he didn't get to shoot because Naruto managed to kill him before he pulled the trigger.

"Let's go." Naruto stated as he ran head first into the bounty hunters.

"Arghhh!" The bounty hunters exclaimed as they started shooting the pirate.

" **Akuma Doroppukira!** " Naruto announced as he left cuts on as many bounty hunters as he could as he rushed Igarappoi, all the while dodging the bullets being shot at him, "I'll kill each one of you!"

"Ahh!" Naruto saw a small child, no older than ten, run up to him with a knife. Instead of being merciful like the bounty hunters had expected, in order for them to sneak up on him with a smokescreen, he simply punched the child into the ground, knocking him out.

"H-how cruel!" Miss Monday cried.

"Die!" Igarappoi shouted as he blew into his saxophone once more, spitting out a blast of bullets once more, " **Igarappa!** " Despite Naruto's immense agility and speed he got hit by several of the bullets, sending him to the ground.

"Argh!" Naruto gritted his teeth at the pain, "It's cause of before when I was dragging the bloody ship! I'm still aching everywhere!"

"Get him now!" The bounty hunters called as they rushed the blonde pirate, before they were stopped in their tracks by Zoro.

"Where'd you think your going?" He grinned, "First up is Yubashiri!" The swordsman swung the blade at the bounty hunters with such speed that he was only a blur to them. The bounty hunters didn't feel anything, that was, until blood started spurting out of their chest.

"Gyaaa!" They cried out in pain.

"Very light! A fine blade indeed..." Zoro grinned as he ran up the stairs to the top of another building in order to take some of the townspeople away from Naruto.

"Eat this!" A bazooka wielding man shouted as Zoro reached the top and fired the bazooka, to which the swordsman narrowly dodged.

"Whoa!" Zoro exclaimed, "That was close."

"Hahaha, this is as far as you'll get." The bounty hunters smirked.

"Hm?" Zoro looked up at them.

"Uooohhh!" They heard Miss Monday yell as she threw a barrel of rum at the pirate swordsman.

"Huh..." Zoro sighed as he simply cut the barrel into quarters, with all four pieces deflecting off of the blade and hitting the bounty hunters behind him, "what a wast of such fine liquor..."

"Ah! Why you!" Miss Monday yelled in anger.

"Hahh!" Zoro heard a man behind him yell as he attempted to hit the swordsman with a stone axe. However, the pirate was able to pull out Sandai Kitetsu quickly and cut straight through the stone and the axe wielding man in the process.

"This one cut through the stone axe!" Zoro exclaimed, "This Sandai Kitetsu has some sharp edge... a masterwork blade only cuts when its user wishes to cut something... this one's gonna be a problem child alright!" Zoro continued climbing up the ladders to the top of the building.

"Hahaha! There's no place for you to run away to up there!" The bounty hunters taunted. When they reached the top of the ladder they saw Zoro holding it and then proceeded to flip it over, causing many of the townspeople to come falling down, "Gahhh! The ladders are all falling down!" Zoro then hopped on top of the falling ladder and jumped off it to bounce onto the opposite building.

"Heh." Zoro grinned.

"Shoot!" The bounty hunters exclaimed as they shot up at the swordsman, who was seemingly flying in the air. However, all they managed to shoot was air.

" **Nitoryu...** " Zoro stated as he held his two of his swords out.

"Arghh! He's coming for us!" The bounty hunters on the building the swordsman was jumping to cried.

" **Taka Nami!** " While airborne, Zoro created a powerful gust of wind by swinging his two swords, knocking the bounty hunters off their feet. As Zoro landed and started walking away he got knocked over the head by Miss Monday with, "Ah!" The woman pinned the swordsman to the floor and put on her brass knuckles and raised her fist.

" **Kairiki Meriken!** " She then proceeded to punch the swordsman square in the jaw.

"Making us waste so much time..." Igarappoi muttered.

"Gyaaa!" Miss Monday screamed as her skull was being crushed by the same swordsman whom she had just punched.

"M-Miss Monday!?" The bounty hunters cried.

"What's wrong? Where's that strength that you're so proud of?" Zoro taunted as he held her by the head almost effortlessly.

"Garghh..." Miss Monday exclaimed as she was released and hit the floor in her unconscious state.

"Aghhh! He beat Miss Monday in pure strength!" The bounty hunters exclaimed, "That's impossible!"

"Shall we continue, Baroque Works?" Zoro questioned as he licked the blood dripping from his forehead, "A fight's no mere game, you know."

"I got it! That wanted poster must be a mistake on the marines' part!" Mr. 8 exclaimed.

"Of course! I can certainly understand if he was the one worth 52 million beli... he must be their real captain!" Mr. 9 agreed.

"I see... then let us act accordingly... no wonder..." Miss Wednesday smirked.

"Well aren't you hypocrites." Naruto stated as he sat atop a dead bounty hunter.

"What'd you mean by that?" Igarappoi questioned.

"Didn't you say that to judge a pirate's strength from his appearances alone is quite foolish?" Naruto asked, "Isn't that exactly what you're doing?" Much to the mayors ire, he knew that the pirate was right, "Anyway, I'm gonna kill you."

"Heh, as if you could do that," Igarappoi smirked, "you're nothing but a kid. There's no wa-"

" **Akuma Fokkusu Ken!** " Naruto interrupted the mayor by punching him with so much power right in the gut, sending him flying into a building, "Shut up."

"Igaram!" Miss Wednesday exclaimed.

"Igaram?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"I-I m-mean Igarappoi!" The blue haired woman tried to cover up, which Naruto found hilarious.

"Hahahaha!" Naruto laughed.

"S-stop laughing!" Miss Wednesday demanded, "Come give me a hand, Carue!"

"Quack!" They heard a large, yellow super spot-billed duck run out from its hiding place behind a building. It's wings were tipped with black, as were his tail feathers and had a spot on its bill. It wore a blue chullo with a white pattern on it and pink goggles with blue lenses. It also carried a barrel of water around its neck with a straw sticking out of it. The animal known as Carue held out its arm in response.

"Not literally!" The blue haired woman shouted.

"Hahahaha!" Naruto laughed as fell on the ground holding his gut as he rolled around on the floor in tears.

"Alright!" Miss Wednesday hopped on the saddle of Carue, "Show your famous speed that can outrun even a leopard!"

"Quaack!" The spot-billed duck quacked loudly before he sat back down on the ground.

"Who the hell told you to sit down!?" Miss Wednesday exclaimed.

"Ha..ha...ha..." Naruto panted out in between laughs, "l-look... just sit down... please. I really don't want to fight someone who clearly doesn't know how."

"You think I don't know how to fight! How wrong you are!" The woman shouted as she stood up on the saddle, "Now... gaze deeply at my body..."

"I already was." Naruto smirked.

" **Miwaku...** " Miss Wednesday announced as she started swaying her body seductively, trying to hide her blush, " **Memai Dance!** " Due to the many circles along the shirt that she was wearing, it should've hypnotised the blonde pirate.

"Oh no... what's come over me... oh no..." Naruto tried to act hypnotised.

"Fufu, that's a nice boy," She grinned, "now for the finish..." Out of her pocket she pulled out a sharp piece of blue metal attached to her pinky finger with a small piece of string, "Let's go, Carue! **Kujakki Slasher!** " She started rushing at the pirate with the sharp piece of metal span as she prepared to slash at him.

"Quack!" Carue roared as it continued running. However, instead of running at Naruto, it ran in the exact wrong direction.

"You're going the wrong way!" Miss Wednesday cried.

"Hahahahahaha!" Naruto laughed his heart out.

"The hell?" Zoro raised an eyebrow from the top of the church.

"Hahahaha! Are you sure you should be looking somewhere else right now?" The voice of Mr. 9 could be heard behind the swordsman as he jumped from the cross above him, "I wonder if you can keep up with my acrobatic finesse? **Nekketsu Nine...** " The Baroque Works agent backflipped down the cross, " **Konjo Bat!** " He attempted to whack the swordsman with his metal bats, however, Zoro easily blocked them, "Haha! These are metal bats! Be careful not to let your sword get chipped! Hahaha..." The prince-looking man looked at Zoro who was standing completely still, "hm? What's wrong, too scared to move?" In the blink of an eye Zoro was already standing right in front of him with his sword stretched out, "Gahh!" The swordsman starting poking at the acrobat who was desperately trying to block the attacks.

"What happened to your acrobatic finesse?" Zoro taunted.

"Oh I'll show it to you alrght!" Mr. 9 exclaimed as he backflipped to evade the attacks, "Just be sure to keep your eyes open!" Unfortunately for him, he didn't see where he was going and he backflipped right off the building, "Aghhh!"

"Isn't there anyone more competent?" Zoro questioned.

" **Igarappa!** " Out of the rubble of the building bullets few at both Naruto and the swordsman, out of the ruins came a bloody and bruised Igarappoi, "Allow me to show you the terror of my true strength."

"That shotgun's a real problem..." Zoro told the blonde pirate.

"I'll handle him." Naruto assured the swordsman.

"Dahhh!" Mr. 9 shouted as he burst out of the wreckage, "How dare you harm me to this extent! I shan't forgive you!"

"But you hurt yourself on your own." Zoro reminded the acrobat.

" **Kattobase Shikomi Bat!** " Mr. 9 held out his bat, which launched a steel rope inside it to wrap around Zoro's forearm, "Hahaha! I've sealed one of your arms!"

"Steel?" Zoro noticed.

"Now, Mr. 8! Finish him off!" Mr. 9 instructed, "Hahahaha! I won't let you escape!"

"Exactly!" Miss Wednesday announced as she held a sword to Luffy's sleeping body, "Move even a single muscle and consider your precious friend's life forfeit!"

"Hahaha! Nice, Miss Wednesday! Not only can they not escape anymore, but they won't be able to attack either!" The prince-looking man realised.

"You don't want to do that." Naruto said as he looked at the blue-haired woman right in the eyes.

"Haha, why not? Did you finally realise that I can fight?" Miss Wednesday questioned.

"No," Naruto stated, "it's just that if you keep holding that sword at my captain's neck then I'm gonna have to kill you."

"How can you possibly kill any of us with that straw hat-wearing brat of yours in the position he's in?" Igarappoi taunted.

"Well, I might be exaggerating, but I will make you see things you don't want to see." Naruto explained.

"Like?" Mr. 9 questioned.

"Like this, **Akuma no Yoru.** " The eyes of Naruto turned red as Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday lost their consciousness immediately.

"W-what did you do!?" Igarappoi shouted.

"I did exactly as I said," Naruto replied, "now Zoro, step out of this fight. I'm fighting this guy."

"You're gonna wish you hadn't picked a fight with Baroque Works!" The agent pulled on his necktie strings to expose several gun barrels hidden in the curls of his hair, " **Igarappappa!** " The bullets came flying at the blonde pirate, who easily sidestepped out of the way. What Naruto didn't know was that the bullets were explosive, much like cannons and it had turned the building behind to ruins. The blonde pirate looked at it as if it was nothing, however, he quickly realised that that was the inn that his other crewmates had fallen asleep in.

"Ahh!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Now you've realised it haven't you, if you move then your friends are sure to be dead, but if you stay put then you will die!" Igarappoi stated, " **Igarappappa!** " The man fired the same attack, but this time the blonde pirate stood there and took it, creating a large explosion, "Hahaha! **Igarappappa! Igarappappa! Igarappappa!** " The mayor of the town continued firing explosive bullet after bullet, without letting up, while Naruto had to endure the pain.

"Naruto!" Zoro cried as he unsheathed his sword, preparing himself to jump in.

"Don't," Naruto warned him through the explosions, "this is my fight." The swordsman reluctantly stayed still as he saw his crewmate take explosion after explosion.

"Haha! **Igarappappa! Igarappappa! Igarrappappa!** Hm?" Igarrappoi tried to pull on the necktie string which would normally launch the attack, however, no bullets came out, "Oh, no more ammunition."

"Isn't that handy?" The blonde pirate could be heard as the smoke and dust built up from the explosion started to dissipate, "Now you've got nothing to defend yourself with." When the streets were completely clear, the mayor looked to see a bloody Naruto who stood confidently.

"W-what!? You should be dead!" Mr. 8 shrieked in fear as the pirate started approaching him.

"I should've died a long time ago," Naruto grinned, " **Akuma...** " The blonde pirate rushed the mayor and started leaving light cuts up along his arm proceeded by a jump and a devastating kick Igarappois head with the pirates heel, " **Doroppukira!** "

"Garh..." Igarappoi mumbled as he slowly fell to the ground. There was an air of silence as Naruto caught his breath.

"Are the others alright?" Naruto asked as the ex pirate hunter.

"I don't know," Zoro replied, "they might be dea-"

"Nami, my love, I shall bring us out of this devilish cave!" They heard the voice of the cook come from the ruins of the inn as he kicked the wreckage enabling him to walk out while carrying the navigator. They both had bruises and cuts all along their body.

"Thank you, Sanji," Nami thanked, "now put me down."

"Of course." Sanji gently placed Nami back on her feet.

"Why didn't you help me up!?" Usopp shouted as he dragged himself out of the wreckage.

"You were fine," Sanji waved off the sniper, "plus you were too far away."

"I wasn't even a metre away!" Usopp cried.

"Details, details." Sanji mumbled as he lit his cigarette.

"Hey... Naruto," Zoro began, "didn't you say that I would take care of the prince guy."

"Yeah." The blonde pirate nodded.

"And you were the one who defeated him." The swordsman stated with an annoyed tone.

"Oh, sorry." Naruto apologised with his hand behind his head. On the other side of the town, the living bounty hunters were running as fast as they could out of Whiskey Peak.

"To think that agents with numbers less than twelve were defeated, I never thought those four would actually lose!" One of the bounty hunters exclaimed, "But... where do we even run away to now?"

"Anywhere's fine, just not here!" Another bounty hunter answered, "Let's just hide ourselves until those pirates leave this isla-"

"Aghhh!" The bounty hunters were prevented from going any further as the familiar otter and eagle stood in front of them, "It's the Unluckies! Miss Friday and Mr. 13!" The two of them were perched atop one of the signs pointing to the town. The otter, now known as Mr. 13, held two shells in a threatening tone while the eagle, known as Miss Friday, looked as if it was ready to pounce at any point.

"W-w-wait... w-we weren't umm... t-trying to r-run away or nothin'..." One of the bounty hunters reasoned with the animals, "we were just... gonna go to the w-washroom!" Clearly the agents didn't take well to their excuses and launched themselves at the bounty hunters, "Gyaaaa!"

"Wait!" Commanded a voice from behind the crowd of townspeople. The bounty hunters turned to see a tall, dark-skinned man with black hair in short spiky dreadlocks. He wore a brown trench coat with a pink cravat and a pair of sunglasses, despite it being late into the night. He also had the number 'five' on the breast of the coat and the shoulder. Beside him was a woman with short blond hair and dark eyes. She wore a yellow and orange hat, as well as a yellow dress with lemon-like pattern, lemon earrings, and white high-heeled shoes. She also carried a bright green parasol with blue stripes. The woman opened her mouth, "Even though it's the dead of the night right now, this town is quite rowdy."

"Hmph. I can't believe we were ordered to come all the way out here to the front lines." The man complained with his hands in the coat's pockets.

"W-what!? Who are you people!?" The bounty hunters questioned, to which the duo remained silent, "I said who are you people!"

"Mr. 5." The man answered.

"Miss Valentine." The woman stated with a grin. Meanwhile, the crew were sitting on the roof of the church with the cool air of the night washing over them. Zoro and Naruto had explained to the crew that the friendly welcoming town was just a facade to rob pirates who just entered the Grand Line. Nami was wrapping up Naruto's forehead with bandages in an attempt to prevent the bleeding, much to Naruto's anger.

"I'm telling you, I don't need it!" Naruto exclaimed.

"I don't care what you say, if you keep bleeding then you'll die." Nami justified her actions, annoyed at his reluctance.

"Whatever." Naruto muttered.

"Ah... it's become a nice quiet night again..." Zoro gave a sigh of relief as he drank some more alcohol.

"Huff... ugh..." The pirates heard groaning from down below.

"What was that?" Sanji asked as they peered over the edge to see the sight of a battered, broken and bloody Igarappoi struggling to stand.

' _I still have... an important mission!'_ Mr. 8 thought to himself as he grabbed hold of one of the pieces of wreckage from the various buildings in an attempt to balance him.

"How pathetic, you lost to a child?" Igarappoi looked over his shoulder to see Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine looking at him.

"Mr. 5!? Miss Valentine!?" The mayor cried.

"Are you idiots just playing around?" Mr. 5 asked, "Well?"

"Kyahahaha!" Miss Valentine laughed, "Give them a break, you can't expect them to be as capable as we are."

"Did you just come to laugh at us?" Igarappoi wheezed out.

"That's one reason." Mr. 5 replied.

"Kyahahaha!" The parasol carrying woman laughed once more, "We've obviously come here for business."

"Ku... hahahahaha!" The duo saw the bodies of Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday crawling towards them, both of them still shaken up from the visions they just had, "With you two backing us up, those pirates stand no chance!"

"That's right... so please, go crush them!" Miss Wednesday pleaded.

"Stop joking around," Mr. 5 told them, much to their shock, "you think we're your back-ups? You honestly believe that we'd be ordered to come all the way out here at the edge of the Grand Line just to help you fight off a pesky swordsman and a child?"

"What!?" Mr. 9 exclaimed, "Then what business have you come here for?"

"Surely you must have some hunches... a crime severe enough that the boss would personally dispatch us all the way out here..." The sunglasses wearing man stated.

"The boss' direct words were, 'my secret has been found out'," Miss Valentine told them, "of course, we have no idea what that secret may be."

"Our organisation's creed is 'secrecy'... no one is allowed to pry into the real identities of our members," Mr. 5 explained, "thus, it's inexcusable for our boss' real identity to be known."

"After investigating into the matter it seems an agent of a certain kingdom has infiltrated into Baroque Works." Miss Valentine stated.

"Wha! W-wait! I know I wear a crown and all but I'm not really a king!" Mr. 9 exclaimed.

"We know it's not you." Miss Valentine responded.

' _They've found out everything!'_ Igarappoi thought to himself, ' _Is this the end!?'_

"Should we fight?" Sanji asked quietly from the roof of the church.

"Nah... let's watch for now." Naruto answered.

"The spy we're talking about," Mr. 5 began, "is the Alabasta Kingdom's-"

"Die! **Igarappa!** " The mayor shot out a blast of bullets from his saxophone at the duo.

"Mr. 8!?" The prince-looking man exclaimed as the bullets, unexpectedly, exploded right in front of the sunglasses wearing man.

' _I swear it on my honour as the head of Alabasta's Royal Guards!_ ' thought Igarappoi.

"Igaram!" Miss Wednesday cried.

"Igaram?" Mr. 9 raised an eyebrow.

"Please run away!" The mayor begged the blue haired woman.

"How futile, kyahahaha!" Miss Wednesday looked up to see the parasol carrying woman falling down on her at a high speed. Miss Wednesday quickly reacted and put her metal hair tie in the way, reducing the damage the attack could've caused.

"Ahh!" The blue haired woman exclaimed.

"Arghhh!" Igarappoi screamed as he got set on fire and fell face first into the ground.

"Ah! Igaram! Igaram!" Miss Wednesday cried as she ran over to the mayor.

"The name of the spy is Igaram, the head of Alabasta Kingdom's Royal Guards!" Mr. 5 stated as he walked out of the flames that had set on Igarappoi, or Igaram as he was now known as, "And the second spy is none other than Alabasta's princess herself, Nefertari Vivi!"

"Y-you were a princess, Miss Wednesday!?" The pince-looking man exclaimed.

"Now's not the time for this, Mr. 9!" The now identified princess of Alabasta shouted.

"Under the direct orders of our Baroque Works boss we shall hereby eliminate you two!" Mr. 5 said as he started picking his nose.

"Don't you underestimate me!" Vivi said as she started running at the agent before she was stopped by Mr. 9.

"I may not exactly understand what's going on, but you're still the same comrade-in-arms that I've partnered with for a long time," He explained as he held out his bat, "I'll hold them off for you so hurry up and run away, Miss Wednesday!"

"Mr. 9!" Vivi cried.

"Bye, bye, baby!" Mr. 9 smirked as he front flipped over to Mr. 5, " **Nekketsu Nine Konjo Bat!** "

"Hmph, the only thing that matters to us is the successful completion of our mission," Mr. 5 stated as he picked a booger from his nose and prepared to flick it at the bat wielding man, "such trivial things as compassion for one's comrades will only invite death. Know your limits! **Nose Fancy...** "

"Ryahhh!" Mr. 9 exclaimed as he prepared to whack the sunglasses wearing man.

" **Cannon!** " Mr. 5 flicked the booger at the prince-looking man and exploded on contact, creating a surprisingly large blast, sending Mr. 9 flying.

"I'm fighting him." Naruto grinned as he jumped onto the street, revealing himself to the others.

"I'll protect you princess!" Sanji wooed as he and Zoro followed the blonde pirates lead.

"You were the people who beat these weaklings." Mr. 5 stated.

"We're also the people that will kill you," Naruto smirked before he felt a hand hold him by his ankles, he looked down to see Igaram, "you again?"

"Mr. Pirate! Seeing your impressive strength, please allow me to make an unreasonable request!" The royal guard pleaded, "Those two are 'Akuma no Mi' users and it is beyond my power to stop them! Please! Please protect the princess in my stead! I beg of you!"

"Carue! Run for it!" Vivi shouted as she hopped on the spot-billed duck.

"Quack!" Carue nodded as it sprinted off in a blistering pace.

"She ran away." Miss Valentine informed.

"She can't escape from us," Mr. 5 smirked, "after her, Miss Valentine!"

"Roger, Mr. 5! Kyahahahaha!" The woman laughed menacingly as they pursued the princess.

"If you successfully send her safely back to Alabasta, a kingdom located in the far east I swear you shall be rewarded greatly!" Igaram continued begging to Naruto, "I beg of you, sir! Please protect the princess!"

"Greatly rewarded, you say?" Nami asked as she and Usopp walked towards the royal guard.

"What?" Igaram questioned.

"Alright then! How about a billion beli then?" Nami negotiated.

"B-billion!" The royal guard exclaimed.

"How about it? Can you guarantee us a reward of one billion beli, Mr. Head-Of-The-Royal-Guard?" Nami asked, "Need I remind you that without our help your precious princess might die."

"I-I'm afraid I can't guarantee such an astronomical sum since I'm merely a single soldier!" Igaram replied.

"Oh? Are you saying that the princess of your kingdom is worth less than a billion beli?" The navigator questioned, "Pay up."

"Talk about an extortion." Usopp muttered.

"In that case, I'm sure that as long as you return the princess safely back to our lands you can directly negotiate with her yourself," Igaram insisted, "and receive that much money!"

"So basically, you're telling us to save her first." Nami concluded.

"There's no time for negotiating!" Igaram shouted, "Even now, as we speak, the princess' life is in danger!"

"Fine, fine. We'll save your little princess first," Nami replied, "go Zoro! Naruto! SanjI!"

"Yes, sweet Nami!" Sanji rushed over to help the princess along with Naruto.

"Why should I go!?" Zoro shouted, "Why do I have to help you with your money-making schemes!?"

"Oh, don't be so stupid, you. My money may be mine alone but a contract I make is a contract for our whole crew." Nami explained.

"What kind of retarded unfair logic is that!? How old are you!?" The swordsman argued.

"What's the big fuss!?" Nami asked, "All I'm asking you is to go and cut up a few bad guys!"

"Well, I hate being used by others! I'm not a tool like that idiot cook!" Zoro explained.

"Oh, I get it. You're only saying that because you don't think you can win, right?" Nami stated.

"What did you say!? I dare you to say that again!" The ex pirate hunter shouted in anger.

"You're only saying that because you don't think you can win, right?" The navigator repeated.

"You did not just say that again!" Zoro exclaimed.

"Aren't you forgetting something? You know you still owe me, right?" Nami stated.

"Huh? No I don't." Zoro disagreed.

"Back at Loguetown, I lent you 100,000 beli so you could buy your swords." Nami reminded the swordsman.

"Yeah and I paid you back right away! I got my swords for free so I didn't use any of your money." Zoro argued.

"Yes, but I lent you that money on 300 percent interest!" Nami explained, "So you still owe me 200,000 beli!"

"But you got your money back right away so isn't it fine?" The swordsman questioned.

"No. Are you saying that you can't even keep a single promise?" The navigator asked angering Zoro, "Now if you do as I say, we'll call it even, ok?"

"Damn you!" Zoro cursed the woman as he ran to join his crewmates in the pursuit of the princess, "You're not going to have a peaceful death, y'hear!"

"True, I'll probably go to hell when I die." Nami grinned at her cunningness.

"You're pretty manipulative." Usopp commented.

"Curse my uselessness!" Igaram cried, "If I were only stronger I could protect the princess!"

"Don't worry. Those guys are monstrously strong." Nami reassured.

"If anything were to happen to the princess then it would be the end of our kingdom!" Igaram exclaimed, "She must survive no matter what!"

"Come on, Carue!" Vivi encouraged the creature as they continued running through the town of Whiskey Peak.

"I've found her!" Miss Valentine shouted out to her companion.

"Faster, Carue!" The princess yelled desperately, "There's a docked ship behind Cactus Rock that we can escape on!"

"Kyahahaha!" Miss Valentine laughed sinisterly.

"Such a futile struggle." Mr. 5 stated. As Viv was escaping on the back of Carue, Miss Monday stepped in front of her, carrying a large wooden pillar.

"Miss Monday!" The princess cried.

"Go on! Get past here and you should be able to escape on the boat," Miss Monday commanded, "as for these guys I'll do my best to stop them. Because of the superhuman swordsman and that kid pirate, we'd all be punished for failing in our mission anyways. So if that's the case I'd rather go down while protecting a friend! Now go on!"

"Thank you!" Vivi exclaimed as she rode past.

"First Mr. 9 and now you too, Miss Monday?" Mr. 5 questioned.

"Kyahahaha, what a joke." Miss Valentine laughed.

"You're a disgrace, in the name of Baroque Works..." Mr. 5 pulled up his sleeve and ran at the muscular woman.

"Nrgh..." Miss Monday held up the wooden pillar and prepared to swing it at the explosive man, however, the second that the contact of Mr. 5's fist touched her, there was an explosion which sent her to the ground in a flaming bloody mess.

"Guh!" Vivi exclaimed as she told Carue to go faster.

"I'm a human bomb that can make any part of my body explode," Mr. 5 explained, "with this ability bestowed upon me by the Bomu Bomu no Mi, there's not a single mission I've failed at!" The Baroque Works agent picked his nose once and aimed the booger in the direction of Vivi, " **Nose Fancy Canno-** "

" **Collier Shoot!** " Sanji announced as he jumped into the fight and landed a powerful kick to the opponent's neck. Thankfully for him, he hit the collar of the coat instead of the actual skin.

"Damn it! Why do you have to come and black my way now of all times!?" Vivi gritted her teeth as she rushed at the cook with her spinning blue piece of metal before she got blocked by Zoro's sword, "Ahh!"

"Calm down, we've come to save you." The swordsman stated to the surprise of the princess.

"Wha... save me?" Vivi questioned. Back with Nami and Usopp, thew were sitting on a barrel next to the downed Igaram.

"Hey... so what exactly is Baroque Works?" The navigator asked.

"It's a secret criminal organisation in which not a single member knows the name nor the real identity of our boss," Igaram explained, "under the boss' orders, we carry out tasks ranging from intelligence gathering, assassination, robbery, and bounty hunting."

"Why do the members of Baroque Works bother to listen to this boss when they don't even know his name or identity?" Usopp asked.

"The final objective of Baroque Works is the creation of an ideal nation," Igaram answered, "those who bring success to our organisation shall be granted high-ranking positions in this ideal nations by the boss."

"I see..." Nami understood.

"The boss goes by the codename, 'Mr. 0'... the lower an officer agent's number is the higher their status will be in this ideal nation, but more importantly the stronger they will be as well!" The royal guard explained, "Especially for agents with the number five or less, their strength is... abnormal." Back with with the rest of the crew, Naruto, Sanji, Zoro stood in front of the princess, protecting her from the two Baroque Works agents.

"Oh, you're the swordsman and the child who defeated all the low-ranking agents in this town, aren't you?" Miss Valentine questioned.

"I'm here to." Sanji waved at the woman.

"Why would people like you be trying to protect Alabasta's princess?" Mr. 5 asked Naruto, his response was only silence, "Well, whatever. You're in our way in any case."

"Kyhahaha!" Miss Valentine laughed, "That's right since you're in our way... allow me to bury your face under the ground with my ability."

"Naruto! Zoro!" Luffy's voice bellowed throughout the town. The crew looked to see him running at them.

"What is it this time?" The parasol carrying women groaned.

"Luffy? What is it this time?" Zoro asked, "If it's about help, then we don't need it. Or do you owe that woman something as well?"

"I'll never forgive you!" He exclaimed at the top of his lungs, "Fight me!"

"What!?" Zoro questioned, "What kind of idiotic things are you spouting again!?"

"Shut up! An ungrateful bastard like you needs to get his ass kicked!" The rubber captain shouted.

"Ungrateful?" Zoro questioned.

"That's right!" Luffy confirmed, "I can't ever forgive you! How dare you beat up every single one of these townspeople after they gave us such a friendly welcome and fed us so much yummy food!"

"H-how dense could he be?" Vivi questioned.

"He can get pretty stupid sometimes." Naruto sighed.

"Looks like he's a friend of those three. What an annoying bunch..." Mr. 5 muttered.

"Kyahahaha! Let's just kill them off already," Miss Valentine suggested, "after all, anyone who interferes with our missions must be eliminated!"

"Luffy, these people are all bounty hun-" Naruto had to quickly duck out of the way of a powerful punch that completely destroyed the inn behind him.

"Don't make any excuses!" Luffy shouted, "Die!" Naruto jumped backwards and looked the swordsman in an excited tone.

"Zoro," Naruto stood still with a big grin on his face, "you can take care of the explosive guy. I'll fight Luffy."

"What? Why are you fighting?" Zoro asked.

"Don't know, don't really care," Naruto grinned as he rushed his captain and started punching him rapidly, " **Akuma Hachidori no Gyakushu!** " Luffy was sent flying before he grabbed hold of the edges of two buildings.

" **Gomu Gomu no Rocket!** " Luffy launched himself at his first mate.

" **Akuma Fokkusu Ken!** " Naruto, before the straw hat pirate could reach him, punched him with as much power as possible. The two pirates collided with each other and sent each other backwards.

"Mr. 5... it seems those two aren't actually interfering with our business..." Miss Valentine noticed.

"It seems so, Miss Valentine," The explosive man agreed, "then shall we resume carrying out our mission of eliminating the princess of Alabasta! Move on out, Miss Valentine!"

"Roger, Mr. 5!" They both started sprinting at the blue haired woman before Zoro and Sanji stepped out in front of them.

"Don't think you can just overlook me." Sanji smirked.

"This is tiring," Mr. 5 stated as he picked his nose and brought out a booger and aimed it at them, " **Nose Fancy Cannon!** " The booger flew at the two of them. As it flew in the air, Zoro stepped out in front and sliced it in half with his sword.

"I just cut a booger..." The swordsman stated deadpanned as he looked at his sword, it seemed as though he was contemplating what he had just done and was considering if it would've been better to just let it hit them.

"You are all nuisances to Baroque Works," Mr. 5 told the two of them, "unfortunately for you, I'm not going to go easy on yo-"

" **Gomu Gomu no Pistol!** " The stretched fist of Luffy punched Naruto into the explosive man, sending them both flying into the building behind them.

"That retard..." Zoro mumbled.

"Jeez! What the heck was that!" Miss Valentine exclaimed.

"It appears you two interfering with our mission after all... since you want to kill each other so much..." Mr. 5 muttered as he staggered up, "allow us to do you a favour by killing you. Sounds good, no?" Suddenly, there was a large and loud explosion in the building that the blonde pirate and Mr. 5 were in.

"Ugh, I've had enough! Let me kill you off already! With my Kilo Kilo no Mi's ability, that is!" Miss Valentine cried as she jumped into the air, "Kyahahaha! Prepare yourselves! Right now my weight is only one kilogram, allowing me to float just from the shockwave created by an explosion! But now I'll..."

"Mr. Bushido and Mr. Eyebrow, watch out!" Vivi warned, "That woman is-"

"Shut up!" Zoro shouted.

"Wha!?" The princess exclaimed.

"I don't have the time to listen to either of you two blabbering on and on!" Zoro explained.

"How dare you disrespect these two lovely ladies!?" Sanji exclaimed as he went to kick the swordsman, only for him to block him.

"Please don't get into a fight as well." Vivi pleaded.

"Weren't you guys meant to be strong?" Naruto questioned as he walked out of the one of the many ruined buildings around the town carrying the unconscious body of Mr. 5.

"Mr. 5!?" Vivi exclaimed, "It can't be! An officer agent of Baroque Works was beaten so easily!"

"Time to get serious..." Naruto said to himself as he stared down his captain who he had spent many years with.

"Luffy, just calm down and listen. The people of this village were actually bounty hunters." Sanji explained.

"Meaning, that they were our enemies." Zoro added.

"D-don't ignore me!" Miss Valentine shouted in a plea to get attention.

"Liar!" Luffy yelled, "What kind of enemies would feed us!?"

"Hello!? Are you listening!?" The parasol carrying woman yelled from above them, "My ability allows me to freely change my weight from one kilogram to 10,000 kilograms in the blink of an eye! Eat this! **100,000 Kilo Press!** " She then rapidly increased her weight so that she fell at such a high speed in order to crush Zoro and Sanji. However, it was simple for the cook and the swordsman to simply step to the side to let the woman crash into the ground.

"If your not going to understand, I guess I'm gonna have to kill you." Naruto told his captain.

"Fine by me!" Luffy shouted.

"Wait a second... what's going!?" Vivi cried, "Aren't you two crewmates!?"

" **Gomu Gomu...** " Luffy ran at the blonde pirate while stretching his arms far back with open palms.

" **Akuma...** " Naruto cocked his fist back and sprinted at the rubber pirate with a blue aura surrounding his fist.

" **Bazooka!** " Luffy brought his palms back and slammed them right into Naruto's fists.

" **Fokkusu Ken!** " The captain and the first mate were in a powerful and hotly contested battle of strength.

"Nuahh!" The two of them cried as they both got sent backwards again, however, this time they both jumped up quickly and rushed back at each other. Naruto tried to hit the captain with a wide kick but Luffy jumped right over him and punched him while the blonde pirate was below him.

"Gargh!" Naruto spat out some blood before he jumped back up and kicked Luffy in the face with as much power as he could create, sending him back a few metres before they were both back into the brawl again. It was such an even fight that no one could guess who the winner would be. Neither of them hit each other much because they were dodging all the attacks. They had been around each other for so long and had learned the way that they fought, it was as if they could already see what they would do before they did it.

"Argh..." Miss Valentine groaned as she pulled herself out of the ground.

"Stay down." Zoro told her as he whacked her over the head with his sheathed blade, citing another kick from the cook.

"H-how could there be guys as strong as them so close to the Grand Line's entrance!?" The princess exclaimed. Before Naruto and Luffy could launch themselves at each Nami walked in the middle and punched both of them.

"Stop it!" The navigator shouted, "Just what the heck do you think you're doing!? Well... in any case, I guess I should at least be glad that the girl is safe. But you were about to cost me my one billion beli!" She started shaking them both by their shirts, "Do you understand!?"

"What're you people talking about?" Vivi asked, "And why did you save me?"

"Ah, that's right you don't know anything yet... how would you like to make a contract with me?" The navigator asked while she was trying to prevent Naruto and Luffy from fighting, "Settle down already!"

"A contract?" Vivi questioned.

Half an Hour Later

"Shishishi! Jeez, you should've said so earlier!" Luffy laughed, "I thought you went and beat up all those people because they wouldn't leave you alone or something!"

"What?" Naruto sweatdropped.

"Ahahaha! It wouldn't have been the worst thing you've done!" Luffy laughed, "Well, whatever. What's done is done!"

"I refuse!" Vivi stated in regards to the contract situation, "But you have my gratitude for saving me just now."

"What, why? You're a princess, right!?" Nami questioned, "A billion beli should be like nothing for a princess."

"Have you heard of a kingdom called Alabasta?" Vivi asked.

"No, can't say that I have." Usopp replied.

"It's a highly civilised country within the Grand Line and it used to be a peaceful one at that too... long ago..." The princess stated.

"Long ago?" Nami asked.

"The past few years have been mired by revolutionary activities. Due to radical Alabastan revolutionaries, my country is currently in a state of chaos," Vivi explained, "one day, I happened to hear of a certain organisation. That organisation was Baroque Works. Apparently it was Baroque Works who had been instigating the revolutionaries. But other than that fact, I didn't know anything else nor could I do anything about Baroque Works. And so, I made a request to Igaram, who's been watching over me since I was a kid."

"You mean that guy with the chikuwa hair?" Luffy asked.

"Even though what I had heard may or may not just be a rumour, I asked Igaram if there were any way I could infiltrate Baroque Works," She recounted, "because that would be the only way to clear away the dark shadow that looms over Alabasta and determine just what exactly is Baroque Work's objective once and for all..."

"Well aren't you a brave princess." Zoro stated.

"So what exactly is the deal with this 'creation of an ideal nation' that Baroque Works is apparently scheming towards? Wait, don't tell me..." Nami started putting the pieces of the puzzle together.

"Yes, it's as you might suspect. Although the boss has hinted at a goal of creating an ideal nation, Baroque Works' true objective is to take over the Kingdom of Alabasta!" Vivi revealed, "And if I don't hurry back to my home country to stop the revolutionaries and tell the people about Baroque Works, things will go exactly as they planned!"

"I see... I guess that explains why you refused," The navigator stated, "a country in the middle of a civil strife wouldn't have any money to spare."

"So who is this boss dude anyways?" Luffy asked.

"You mean the boss' true identity!? Please don't ask me! In fact, you're better off not knowing!" Vivi shook her head, "If you knew, Baroque Works would come and hunt you down."

"Hahaha. Yeah, just leave us out of it," Usopp agreed, "I mean, a guy who's planning to take over an entire country must be one incredibly dangerous person!"

"Yes, exactly. No matter how strong you pirates may be, you'd be no match for Crocodile, a member of the Shichibukai!" The crew all reacted in different ways to the princess' slip of the tongue. Nami and Usopp both hugged each other in fear, Sanji dropped his cigarette in shock, Luffy looked extremely happy, Zoro sweatdropped and Naruto was just laughing at the mistake. Naruto, however, felt a pair of eyes staring directly at their heads. He quickly moved his head to see the Unluckies. Miss Friday and Mr. 13 looked at each other before they flew off into the distance.

"What was that bird and otter just now!?" Nami cried as he started shaking the princess, "Did they go to report that you've told us the boss' secret!? Well!? What's gonna happen to us now!?"

"A Shichibukai, she said! Whoa!" Luffy exclaimed in an excited mood.

"Heh, not bad." Zoro smirked.

"A bit of an improvement from Buggy." Naruto grinned.

"He was that clown guy right?" Sanji asked.

"How can you all be so calm right now!?" Usopp exclaimed.

"I... I'm really sorry! It just accidentally slipped out!" Vivi apologised.

"You think saying it accidentally makes this any better!? Why do we have to become hunted down because of a single slip-up from you!?" Nami screamed, "We just barely entered the Grand Line and already we have a Shichibukai chasing after us!"

"Yeah, we're real lucky to meet him so early." Zoro stated.

"I wonder what kind of guy he is." The straw hat wearing captain wondered.

"Shut up, you two!" Nami shouted as she started walking away, "It's been a real short time travelling with you but bye!"

"Where're ya going, Nami?" Luffy asked.

"They don't know my face yet so I'm running away!" Nami yelled back, "Hm?" The navigator saw the otter walk up to her and then showed her some sketches of the crew, each one of them drawn perfectly, "Wow, you're really good!" Nami clapped before the otter flew away on the back of the eagle, "Now I can't even run away!"

"S-sorry..." Vivi apologised again.

"Interesting bunch, those animals." Luffy stated.

"Where were you even planning to run away to?" Zoro asked, "In any case, with this all six of us are now on Baroque Work's hit list..."

"This is so cool!" Luffy cheered.

"Ah... we're gonna die..." Usopp cried to himself.

"I can imagine the beautiful women in Alabasta." Sanji wondered to himself.

"Hopefully with this we'll be able to fight stronger people instead of these grunts." Naruto muttered in disappointment at the level of competition he came up against on the Grand Line so far.

"I-I have 500,000 beli in my savings account that you can have though..." Vivi tried consoling the crying navigator.

"Fear not!" They turned to see Igaram wearing lipstick and a metal hair tie done up in a high ponytail. He had painted red circles along his shirt with a thick fur jacket around him, "It'll be alright! I have a plan!"

"Igaram!? W-what's with that outfit!?" The princess questioned.

"Enough about that and just listen to me. Once the Baroque Works network learns of what happened, they'll be sure to send pursuers right away. More so, since you defeated Mr. 5 and his partner!" Igaram stated, "Just to let you know, although the boss has no bounty on him since he's now a member of the Shichibukai, back in his heydays as a pirate, Crocodile had an 80 million beli bounty. By the way, have you decided on whether or not to safely escort the princess back to Alabasta yet?"

"Huh? What're you talking about?" Luffy asked.

"He means he wants us to take her back home." Zoro explained.

"Oh. Sure, fine by me." Luffy shrugged.

"Eighty million!?" Nami and Usopp shrieked, "That's four times Arlong's bounty! Just refuse his request!"

"Now then, princess," Igaram stood in front of the princess, "please hand me the eternal pose to Alabasta."

"Huh? What's an eternal pose?" Nami questioned.

"Hm? You don't know?" The royal guard raised an eyebrow, "Simply put, it's a log pose that can eternally record a magnetic field. A normal log pose records the magnetic field of an island to guide a ship from island to island. However, the magnetic field recorded by an eternal pose is never forgotten. No matter where you go, it will only point to that very island. That is what an eternal pose is. This one in particular has recorded the magnetic field of Alabasta. Now then, Princess Vivi. I shall take this eternal pose and set forth for Alabasta, while dressing up as you and taking these six dummies to represent these six wanted pirates. And while agents of Baroque Works chase after me, you are to travel on the normal route to Alabasta on their ship. I haven't sailed to Alabasta using the normal route myself but there should be around two to three logs to record along the way. Take care, and may we meet again in our homeland," The crew along with the addition of Vivi and Igaram walked to the dock where one of the town's ships given by Baroque Works, "I hereby leave the princess in your care." He started walking onto the ship with the other six dummies.

"I bet you'll totally fool them!" Luffy smiled.

"Fool who?" Sanji asked.

"The journey ahead of you may be dangerous so please be careful." Igaram said his final goodbye to the princess.

"You too, Igaram." Vivi farewelled as the ship sailed off into the distance.

"Aww, he left... he was such a funny guy too..." Luffy sighed.

"He's always been so dependable." Vivi stated.

' _Farewell, Princess Vivi! I have complete confidence that you'll be able to save our kingdom!_ ' The royal guard thought. The pirate crew starting walking away, but they couldn't get very far before they heard a defining boom and turned around to see a wall of fire bigger than the island itself.

"It can't be..." Nami said in shock.

"Pursuers!? Already!?" The sniper exclaimed.

"He was a good man!" Luffy shouted.

"Nami! How's the log!?" Zoro asked the navigator.

"I-it finished recording!" She answered.

"Then let's hurry up and get going!" Zoro shouted as the crew started running towards the Going Merry, all except for Vivi who stood there looking on at the destruction. Naruto walked up and stood beside her.

"Vivi, I know it's hard but if we don't hurry up his sacrifice would've been vain," The blonde pirate stated. He looked over and noticed blood bleeding from her lower lip due to how hard she was biting it, "it's alright. I give you my word that you'll get back to Alabasta! So lets go!" Vivi nodded as the pair started running towards the Going Merry, on the way there, Vivi continued scanning the town.

' _Carue's not here!_ ' She thought.

"Hurry up!' They heard Zoro shout, "We're setting sail!" Naruto and Vivi started speeding up and only narrowly managed to get on the ship.

"Carue's missing!" Vivi announced as she still tried looking over the town.

"The duck?" Naruto asked.

"Yes! I can't just leave him here..." Vivi stated.

"You mean him?" Zoro asked, the two of them turned to see the super spot-billed duck.

"Quack!" Carue waved happily as the princess ran to hug the creature.

"Turn the boat around to head down this river and we should be able to reach the ocean!" Vivi instructed, "We have to leave as quickly as possible!"

"Hey, so how many guys are gonna come after us?" Luffy asked.

"I can't say for sure. There's reportedly 2000 people working for Baroque Works," Vivi answered, "and towns like Whiskey Peak aren't uncommon either."

"You mean we could have 2000 people after us!?" Nami asked.

"It's possible considering how serious knowing the boss' real identity is." Vivi informed. They had been sailing for a while before the fog started lifting.

"The fog is lifting, it's almost morning." Sanji pointed out.

"What a night..." Usopp sighed.

"Be careful not to crash you ship into the rocks near the shore," The crew, extremely alarmed, turned to see a woman sitting on the railing in front of the kitchen door. She was a tall, slender woman with shoulder-length black hair. She had sky-blue eyes with dark, wide pupils with a long, thin and defined nose with a light skin tone. She wore a skimpy cowgirl outfit consisting of a purple-cleavage-exposing corset and matching miniskirt, both with white ornaments hanging from there. She wore a purple cowgirl hat with purple boots, "and congratulations on your escape. What a nice ship this is."

"Wha!? Who's that!?" The pirates cried.

"I must tell you Miss Wednesday, I met up with Mr. 8 just a little while ago..." The woman said with a smile.

"Are you saying... it was you who did that to Igaram!?" Vivi shouted.

"Hey! Why're you on our ship anyways!?" Luffy questioned.

"What're you doing all the way out here Miss All-Sunday!" The princess exclaimed.

"Who is it this time!? Whose partner is she!?" Nami asked.

"She's Mr. 0's partner! She's the only one who knows the boss' true identity," Vivi explained, "which is why Igaram and I tailed after her to find out who the boss was as well!"

"Well technically it was more like I let you tail me." The woman, identified as Miss All-Sunday, stated.

"Oh, so she's a good guy." Luffy nodded.

"I already knew that! And I bet you're the one who told the boss that his identity was leaked!" Vivi yelled in anger.

"Oh, so she's a bad guy!" Luffy grumbled.

"Just what exactly is your objective!?" Vivi questioned.

"Now, now... no need to get so worked up," Miss All-Sunday stated, "I only let you follow me because you looked so desperate. And it was just too amusing to observe a princess who foolishly thinks she can take on the entire Baroque Works organisation and save her kingdom..."

"Don't underestimate me!" The princess exclaimed. The crew gasped as they saw Usopp and Sanji standing next to the Baroque Works agent, the former holding his slingshot and the latter with a flintlock.

"Hey... what makes you think that you can come on this ship and say that?" Usopp questioned, trying to prevent his legs from shaking.

"And why'd you threaten my lovely Princess Vivi!" Sanji stated.

"Would you please mind not pointing such dangerous weapons at me?" Both Usopp and Sanji were flung off the railing onto the deck without the woman moving a muscle.

"What!?" Zoro shouted.

"It's an Akuma no Mi!" Vivi announced.

"Ohh!?" Luffy wondered how his crewmates were taken care of so easily.

"What ability does she have!?" Nami questioned as her pole and all of Zoro's swords were taken out of their hands and hit the deck.

"Who! She's a real beauty!" Sanji wooed once he had gotten a better look at the enemy.

"Fufufu... no need to get so riled up," Miss All-Sunday started, "I haven't come here on any orders nor do I have any reasons for fighting you people," Suddenly, Luffy's straw hat flew off his head and landed on the woman's right hand, "so you're the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, Monkey D. Luffy.'

"You might wanna give that back," Out of seemingly nowhere, Naruto had appeared next to the woman, perched on the railing, "he gets a bit mad when that happens." Miss All-Sunday was shocked and surprised, but she wiped those emotions from her face as quickly as they came.

"And you must be the first mate Naruto Uzumaki," The Baroque Works agent commented as Naruto snatched the hat back and walked it back down to Luffy, "how unfortunate... small-time pirates having to look after a princess targeted by the entire Baroque Works organisation... and a lone princess having to entrust herself to a few small-time pirates. But above all, how unfortunate your route pointed out by your log pose is! The name of the next place on your journey is 'Little Garden'. Even if I weren't to lay a single finger on you it's more than likely that you'd still never reach Alabasta! Without even meeting Crocodile, the curtains will close on your mission and lives."

"As if we'd just roll over and die!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Yeah, how dare you! Y-you big meanie!" Usopp shouted as he hid behind the mast, seemingly forgetting how he just threatened her.

"Enough howling, anyone could put up a brave front," Miss All-Sunday stated as she flicked an eternal pose to VIvi, "yet to know of the difficulty that lies ahead and still rush in is an act fit for only fools."

"An eternal pose!?" Vivi gasped.

"You'll be able to skip right over your future troubles with that. The needle of that log pose points to an obscure uninhabited island located right before Alabasta," Miss All-Sunday explained, "moreover, the route you'll be navigating on is unknown to Baroque Works so you won't be followed by anyone either."

"What? Is she not a bad person then?" Nami asked.

"W-why would you give such a thing to me!?" The princess questioned.

"It's probably a trap." Zoro stated.

"Oh, I wonder about that..." The woman smirked.

' _What should I do... I don't want to accept this log pose from her of all people but picking the safest and surest route is crucial!'_ thought Vivi.

"Enough wasting time with that!" Luffy exclaimed as he took the eternal pose and crushed it.

"Ah!" Vivi cried.

"Are you an idiot!? She came out all the way to teach us the safest route to Alabasta!" Nami shouted at her captain, "What are you going to do if she does turn out to be a good person!?"

"Don't you dare think you can choose the path of our journey!" Luffy told Miss All-Sunday.

"I see. How unfortunate." The Baroque Works agent sighed.

"Luffy!" The navigator cried.

"She blew up that chikuwa mister so I hate her!" The captain explained.

"Well, I don't dislike bold men... let us meet again soon if you survive." Miss All-Sunday told the rubber pirate.

"I don't wanna!" Luffy shouted angrily.

"Let's go, Banchi." As the Baroque Works agent called this a large turtle with a dark brown shell and a greyish-green underbelly pulled up next to the Going Merry. It wore a horizontal-striped white cowboy hat with a pink cloth that attached it to his head. He had purple belts connecting him to a carriage on his shell.

"Whoa, it's a turtle!" Usopp exclaimed as Miss All-Sunday started sailing away in the carriage on top of the shell.

"What a huge turtle..." Luffy mumbled.

"That woman! I don't have the faintest idea what she's really planning!" Vivi cried as she fell to her knees.

"Then it's a waste of time and effort to think about it." Nami patted her on her back.

"Are you really alright with me riding on your ship?" The princess asked, "I may be just putting all of you into danger..."

"They already know about us and what we look like." Naruto pointed out.

"It's morning! Sanji! Time for breakfast!" Luffy demanded from the kitchen.

"Looks like he doesn't care." Vivi noticed.

"Now then... since the sun is up, let's sail!" Luffy cheered as the crew started sailing towards their next destination, Little Garden.

 **Hope you liked it.**

 **1\. Maindo Hakai = Mind Destruction**

 **What I'm thinking of doing is making it a Naruto/Vivi pairing, however it's probably gonna be mostly fluff. This doesn't mean that she is guaranteed to stay a part of the crew. But anyway, I hope you liked it.**


	6. Little Garden

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, Naruto or any of the characters; all rights go to Eiichiro Oda and Masashi Kishimoto**

It had been a day since the events of Whiskey Peak and the Straw Hat Pirates along with the addition of the princess, Vivi, were on their way to the kingdom of Alabasta. However, on their journey, they had to deal with Little Garden, despite Miss All-Sunday's warnings. It was currently sunny with surprisingly calm waves, the crew had just finished lunch and they were out doing their miscellaneous activities, Luffy and Usopp playing games with each other and making jokes, Zoro training, Nami navigating, Sanji wooing over the navigator and the princess and Vivi talking to the orange-haired navigator about what Alabasta would be like when they get there. Naruto, however, wasn't reading his book like he had been doing recently. Instead he was observing the blue-haired princess. She had changed from the outfit she wore when she was working for Baroque Works into a much more casual one. She wore a green long-sleeved shirt with blue stripes with a collar along with grey shorts and white high heel boots.

He had noticed that she had been intentionally ignoring him to the best of her ability. An example of this happened at breakfast and lunch. Naruto was sitting down with a free seat next to him and Vivi chose to instead squeeze in next to Nami and Luffy. Whenever he walked over to where Vivi was, she left immediately and it was clear to see that whenever he was within ten metres of her, she tensed up. They hadn't spoken at all since they departed Whiskey Peak and everyone started to notice, well, except for Luffy.

"Hey Naruto," Usopp ran over to the blond pirate, "wanna tell stories?"

"What?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Well, it's just that me and Luffy are telling stories now and its getting boring." The sniper explained.

"Isn't that a bit childish?" Naruto questioned.

"There's nothing childish about the tales of a brave sea warrior!" Usopp exclaimed.

"Ok... but why did you ask me?" The blond pirate asked.

"Because I remember you telling Kaya the story back home," Usopp recounted, "and you ended it just when it was getting interesting, so you reckon you could continue?"

"Um... sure." Naruto, unsure, walked over to where his captain was sitting.

"Ohhh! Yes! Are you gonna tell the story about the Jūbi!?" Luffy asked.

"Yeah." Naruto nodded as he sat in front of the rubber pirate.

"You've heard the story?" Usopp asked his captain.

"Everyone! Come quick Naruto's gonna tell a cool story!" Luffy called out to his crewmates.

"Why should we listen?" Zoro asked as he continued training.

"Just come!" The captain continued.

"Fine." The swordsman muttered as he reluctantly walked over to the trio while the others followed.

"This better be good." Sanji stated as smoked another cigarette. Nami walked over and sat down while Vivi instead kept her distance from Naruto.

"So I guess since you're all here I better get you updated." The blond pirate told them as he started retelling the story from the start about how the Jūbi, or Shinju, was am immensely powerful being who could crush islands with a swing of it's tails. He then told them of a man who was born with the abilities to defeat the monster and how he trained for years before he began fighting Shinju.

"Cool!" Luffy exclaimed with a massive grin.

"I know right!" Usopp agreed.

"Yeah," Naruto nodded, "the fight went on for weeks, with neither of them giving up. Shinju, despite being an extremely dangerous monster, knew it's limits and it knew that it couldn't go on for much longer. it was at this point that the beast created the most powerful attack known to man, the Bijūdama."

"What's that?" Nami asked.

"It's an extremely dense ball of positive and negative energy, however as I'm starting to realise, this could've very easily have been chakra," Naruto explained, "the thing with the positive and negative energy is that it wouldn't matter how large it was or how much energy was poured into it as long as there was a ratio between positive and negative energy was 8:2. Because of this the ball of dense energy Shinju created was many times bigger than the Grand Line itself."

"What!? That's huge!" Sanji exclaimed, "What'd it do with that!?"

"Ate it." Naruto replied.

"Why?" Nami asked, very intrigued by the story.

"Because even though Shinju could fire it as-is, if the beast ate it, it could fire it from it's mouth as a beam." Naruto explained.

"So cool!" Luffy shouted with stars in his eyes.

"Anyway, Shinju ate the ball and fired it at the man," The blond haired pirate explained, "it was impossible for the man to dodge it because of the speed and power of the beam, so instead he created a shield of energy around him. The beam struck the shield and continued it's course. Shinju's beam was so incredibly powerful that it managed to go around the entire diameter of the world, creating so much destruction in its path."

"Wow..." Zoro mumbled as he imagined the beam of energy.

"When Shinju let up, it was completely depleted of it's energy. It was at this point that the man, who had miraculously survived, raised up the land that the beast had destroyed with his beam," Naruto continued, "he raised it up further than the clouds themselves. Now instead of killing it, as most would do, he realised that with the immense power of the beast, he could use it for good. So he sealed the Jūbi within himself."

"How'd he manage that!?" Usopp questioned.

"No idea," Naruto shrugged, "but instead of sealing the entirety of Shinju, he only sealed it's energy and power. He then released a dead black sphere into the sky which acted as a centre of gravity, drawing in everything around it. It drew majority of the raised piece of land towards it along with the husk of the Jūbi to create an enormous satellite. The man then sent the satellite into the sky as far away as he could. That satellite is known as the moon."

"Wha!?" Vivi exclaimed, "S-so you're saying that that being is stuck inside the moon!"

"Pretty much," Naruto nodded, happy that the princess had actually spoken to him, "also, do you know what the raised piece of land is now called?"

"What?" Nami asked.

"The Red Line." Naruto answered to the crew's shock.

"H-how strong was that man!?" Usopp questioned.

"Pretty strong." Naruto replied.

"Is there anymore to the story?" Sanji asked.

"Yeah, there's loads more, but that's a story for another day." Naruto stated, much to the crew's disappointment.

"Can you tell the rest please!" Luffy begged.

"It'll tell you later." Naruto replied as he walked up to the crow's nest in order to get some piece and quiet. The crew had gone back to their normal activities with Luffy sitting on his 'special seat' and looking off into the distance.

"I wonder if it's gonna snow... hey!" Luffy shouted out to Vivi, "Do ya think it'll snow some more?"

"Well, it's not like it never snows or anything, but that part of the Grand Line up to the very first island is special. The seven magnetic fields that stretch from Reverse Mountain clash together to make things even more unpredictable," Vivi explained, "so you can't let down your guard even for a minute. Even though it would be quite rare to encounter such biazrre conditions once you've passed the first island the Grand Line is still by far the most difficult ocean to navigate on. So it's absolutely imperative that you never underestimate this sea!"

"Anybody up for some special drinks!?" Sanji asked from the kitchen.

"You bet we are!" The crew replied enthusiastically, showing Vivi that they weren't paying any attention to her.

"Are you sure things'll be fine like this!?" Vivi asked the navigator.

"It'll be fine," Nami assured as she handed the princess one of the drinks, "they'll work hard when we come across rough seas. It's not like they want to die or anything."

"That's... true..." The princess sighed as she took the drink, "but at this rate, we might be caught unaware."

"Oh, looks like this duck knows how to drink! Tastes good, right? Drink up, buddy!" Sanji encouraged as he handed a drink to Carue.

"Quack!" The spot-billed duck exclaimed.

"Hey, Usopp can you make us some fishing rods?" Luffy asked,

"Fishing, eh? Not a bad idea." Zoro agreed.

"Sure thing! Let me just fire up my ol' artistic skills to create a masterwork fishing rod!" Usopp stated.

"Being on this ship sure makes you lose the will to even worry, doesn't it?" Nami told the princess. The princess looked over the crew and Naruto perched up in the crow's nest.

"Yes... it is quite relaxing." Vivi agreed.

"Hey, look! It's a dolphin!" Sanji alerted the crew.

"Oh!" Luffy cried as he looked on at the marine creature. It looked small from a distance, but as it swam further to the Going Merry they realised it was in fact several times larger than the ship, "It's freakin' huge! Let's run away!"

"Aye, aye, captain!" The crew shouted as they happily handled the sails and directed them into a different direction. Vivi noticed how calm and happy they all were despite being in the face of danger, even the normally expressionless Naruto seemed to enjoy it. Once they had escaped the danger, Nami was looking through the log pose and saw an island in front of them.

"There's no doubt about it. Our next destination is that island!" Nami announced to the pirates as they looked on at their destination.

"Woohoo! Our second island on the Grand Line!" Luffy exclaimed as he looked upon the island known as Little Garden.

"We should be careful... I'm worried about what Miss All-Sunday said about this island." Vivi warned.

"Y-y-you don't think there are monsters here, do you?" Usopp asked, afraid.

"Beats me," Sanji shrugged, "but we gotta stock up on some food pretty soon. I wasn't able to restock at all at the last town."

"But man, just look at this place..." Usopp stated as they sailed through the island, it was covered in giant palm trees and huge flora, "it's like a land yet to be explored by people. The entire island is a thick jungle. So this is Little Garden..."

"I can't say I see anything that would deserve such a cute name like that though..." Nami commented.

"Just what about this island is little?" Zoro asked.

"And look! I've never seen any plants like these in my encyclopaedia!" Nami pointed out the plants on the bank.

"Gyaaaa! Gyaaa!" The crew heard the screeching sounds come from the jungle.

"Kyaa! What was that just now!?" Nami cried.

"Terrified Nami is so cute!" The cook wooed as he pointed to an eagle that flew out of the treetops, "Don't worry, it's just a normal bird. And even this island is nothing but your average jungle!" Luffy looked up at the eagle and noticed that it's head didn't look anything like a normal bird. In fact it looked more like a lizard.

"A lizard?" The rubber questioned.

"Buuahhhhhh!" The pirates flinched when they heard the deafening bellow from deeper into the jungle.

"Does this sound like your average jungle!?" Nami shrieked.

"That sounded like a volcano exploding or something!" Usopp cried.

"Grrr..." They heard the sounds coming from the trees to their right.

"A tiger?" Naruto questioned as a giant tiger emerged from the jungle and fell to the ground covered in blood.

"This is definitely not normal!" The navigator exclaimed, "Otherwise, why would a tiger, king of the jungle, collapse covered in its own blood!?"

"Alright, then it's decided. We are to not set foot on this island!" Usopp announced.

"Let's just quietly wait on our ship and leave the very second our log pose finishes recording!" Nami suggested, "After all, we have to hurry on to Alabasta as soon as possible."

"Sanji! Prepare a lunchbox!" Luffy ordered as he trembled with excitement.

"A lunchbox?" The cook raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, a pirate lunchbox!" The captain confirmed, "I smell adventure ahead!"

"W-wait just a second!" Nami cried, "Where do you think you're going?"

"On an adventure!" Luffy grinned, "Shishishi! Wanna come along?

' _Oh no, it's too late to stop him. He's too fired up!'_ Nami thought to herself.

"Sanji! Prepare my lunchbox!" The captain demanded.

"Alright, just hang on a moment." Sanji replied as he walked into the kitchen.

"Could I come along with you!?" Vivi asked the captian.

"Sure, sure!" Luffy replied.

"Even you!?" Nami cried.

"Yes... just standing around here doing nothing is only going to end up making me think about my worries again," The princess explained, "so I may as well try to clear my head until the log pose finishes recording! It'll be fine! Carue will be by my side, after all."

"Quack!?" The duck exclaimed in fear.

"Your trusty bodyguard looks pretty scared..." Nami commented.

"Then allow me to make a lunchbox of love for you, Vivi." Sanji wooed once more.

"Could you also make another drink for Carue as well." Vivi asked as the cook danced into the kitchen.

"I'll go as well." Naruto announced, to which Vivi stepped back.

"W-w-w-why?" The princess asked cautiously.

"Why not?" Naruto stated, he now knew for a fact that his suspicions about the princess were right, she was trying to avoid him, "It'll be fun."

"Here you go!" Sanji announced from the kitchen as he threw down three bags, each of them filled with foods and drinks.

"Alright, let's go!" Luffy announced as he and his first mate started marching into the jungle with Vivi riding on Carue.

"We'll be back!" The princess yelled to the crew.

"Vivi's got some guts." Usopp stated.

"I guess it's expected of one who infiltrated Baroque Works." Nami told the sniper.

"Well, since I'm not doing anything either, I'll go for a walk." Zoro told the crew as he started walking into the jungle.

"A walk!?" Usopp exclaimed.

"Yo Zoro, wait!" Sanji shouted.

"Hm?" The swordsman looked up at the cook.

"We're running out of food onboard so if you see any animals that look to be edible, can you hunt it down and bring it back?" Sanji asked.

"Sure thing," Zoro nodded as he continued walking into the jungle, "I'll go hunt for some animals that you'd never be able to kill yourself."

"Wait right there!" The cook demanded.

"Huh?" The swordsman turned his head.

"Did I hear you wrong or did you just imply that you could hunt a bigger game than I can?" Sanji questioned threateningly.

"Isn't that obvious?" Zoro taunted.

"That's it! I challenge you to a hunting contest!" Sanji announced as he jumped off the ship and walked into the jungle, "Whoever brings back the most kilograms of meat will be the winner!"

"Fine by me, though in my case it'll be tonnes of meat." The swordsman stated as he walked off.

"Why does everyone on this ship have to be like that..." Nami silently cried to herself.

"I know exactly how you feel, Nami. Don't cry at least I'm by your side..." The sniper stated quietly. There was a long moment of silence between the two crewmates, "why can't you be a little more dependable?"

"That's my line!" Nami shouted as she slumped down against the railing, "Wait a second... I feel like I've read this in a book before... I'm sure I've heard of it..."

"Heard of what?" Usopp asked.

"Of Little Garden," The navigator replied before she ran into the women's room and started looking through the books on the bookshelf, "not this. Not that. Where'd I put it... I know I read it pretty recently... shoot, I can't remember!"

"Hmm... I wonder what it means by 'Little Garden'..." Usopp said to himself.

"Usopp! Usopp!" Nami came rushing out the entrance to the storage room.

"What, did you find that book?" The sniper asked.

"We're in trouble! On this island..." Nami would've continued speaking, but she stopped when she saw the massive figure of a human-looking body at least twice the size of the Going Merry, "ahhhhh!"

"Gyaaa!" Usopp shrieked.

With Luffy, Naruto, Carue and Vivi

"Hey, check this out!" Luffy called out as he held up an ammonite-looking creature, "There's a clam that looks like a squid! A clam-squid!"

"This looks like an ammonite if you ask me." Vivi told the rubber captain.

"A clam-squid, right?" Luffy grinned.

"Grahhhhh..." The trio, along with Carue looked up to see a Brachiosaurus in the distance.

"Ah..." Luffy looked upon the beast with wonder, "why's there a sea king on land?"

"It's a dinosaur!" Vivi shouted.

"A dinosaur!?" The rubber pirate exclaimed.

"That means... this is a prehistoric island!" Vivi stated.

"Huh?" Luffy raised an eyebrow.

"This island's still stuck in the age of dinosaurs! Because of the difficulty in navigating from one island to another on the Grand Line foreign interaction is rare, giving rise to unique cultures on each land," The princess explained, "so if there are islands on which highly advanced people live then there can also be islands on which time has stopped still for thousands and thousands of yeas! This is all possible due to the Grand Line's chaotic climate! And so... this island is one such product of the Grand Line's chaos... it's an island trapped back in the age of dinosaurs!"

"Awesome!" Luffy exclaimed from the neck of the dinosaur.

"Don't ride on it!" Vivi cried.

"How do you know so much about the Grand Line?" Naruto asked.

"W-w-well, it's j-just that when I was younger I was t-taught about a lot of things," Vivi explained, her personality taking a u-turn, "I learnt about p-politics and the ocean in p-particular."

"Why are you avoiding me?" The blond pirate asked, looking right into the eyes of the princess.

"W-what?" Vivi questioned, "I h-haven't been avoiding y-"

"It's clear to see," Naruto interrupted, "whenever I walk into a room you leave, whenever I come anywhere near you, you walk away, so, why are you avoiding me?" There was a long silence as the princess bit her lip, "Fine then. Don't tell me."

"I-it's just that..." Vivi began, "a-after what you did in Whiskey Peak... the v-visions you showed me and Mr. 9... and h-how you s-showed no mercy to the b-bounty hunters... it just... it scared me."

"I"m not apologising for that," The blond pirate told the blue haired woman, "they were my enemies and so were you, at that point," He then held the princess by her shoulders, "you can trust me. Me and everyone else on the crew is here to protect you. You don't have to like me, just trust me."

"O-okay..." Vivi nodded as she tried to hold a smile, "but... can I ask you a question?"

"Fire away." Naruto allowed.

"What was t-that thing that you showed me and Mr. 9?" Vivi asked, "It was like a... fox with four tails."

"Don't worry about that, you'll never see it again." Naruto said with a smile as he thought, _'But considering we're facing a Shichibukai... it might come out unfortunately.'_

With Nami and Usopp

Back on the ship, both the navigator and the sniper were crying dreadfully as they looked upon the giant in front of them. The giant dressed like a viking, with red overalls with golden button straps, fur linings, a leather strap around his right shoulder and another as a belt, yellow pants with black stripes and fur linings at the bottom, yellow shoes, and a red helmet with two horns. The giant had a blond beard shaped like an axe's blade, beady eyes, a wide grin, and a pig-like nose.

"Do you have any rum?" The giant asked, his response from the two was simply more tears, "I'm asking if you have any rum."

"W-we have a little..." Usopp stuttered.

"Oh, so you do have some?" The viking-like giant grinned as he lowered his down to be level with the ship, "Nuahhhh!"

"Gyaaa!" The crewmates cried as they saw a dinosaur bite into the giant's leg.

"A d-dinosaur?" Nami stated. It didn't take long for the giant to very easily decapitate the offending dinosaur with a battle axe, "Gyaaaaa!"

"I am Elbaf's strongest warrior!" The giant exclaimed as he held up the head of the prehistoric creature, "Brogy! Gabababababa! Good I got some meat! Let me welcome you as my guests!"

 _'P-play dead...'_ Usopp and Nami both thought as they layed on the deck of the ship.

With Luffy, Naruto and Vivi

"Yahoo!" Luffy exclaimed from the top of the dinosaur's head, "This is a great view! I'd sure like to eat lunch up here! Oh, there's volcanoes! I can also see some weird rock full of holes!"

"Get down, it's too dangerous! It may seem docile but it's still a dinosaur!" The princess warned.

"It's fine! This guy's only been eating plants!" Luffy yelled down to his crewmates, "I don't think it's even taken any notice of me yet! Let's go check out those weird holes up ahead!" Suddenly, the dinosaur flicked his head up, lifting the rubber pirate off his head and into his mouth.

"Look, you just got eaten!" Vivi cried. Before the pirate could travel down the throat of the dinosaur, a gigantic humanoid creature appeared and cut the long neck of the prehistoric creature.

"Oh?" Luffy mumbled as he dropped into the hands of the giant, "Woah."

"Gegyagyagyagya!" The giant laughed. He was a well-built giant with a long brown beard. He dressed in a viking attire with a helmet that went over his eyes. He wore a black cloak to cover his back but opened up at this chest. He also carried around a longsword, "Aren't you a lively one! I haven't had any guests in a long time!"

"Whoa! You're huge! Are you human?" Luffy asked.

"Gegyagyagyagyagya! I'm Elbaf's strongest warrior, Dorry!" The giant introduced himself.

"Wow." Naruto stated as he looked upon the ginormous being.

"It's... a giant! This is my first time seeing one... though I have heard rumours about them..." Vivi said to herself.

"Let me invite you folks to my place!" Dorry stated as he looked down on the blue haired princess and Naruto.

"Agh! He spotted us..." Vivi stated extremely alarmed.

Brogy The Giant's Home

Nami and Usopp sat on a large log in front of a fire that the giant was cooking the dinosaur meat on.

"Gababababa!" Brogy laughed as he handed the duo a slice of the meat on a large leaf, "There! It's all cooked so eat up!"

"W-we're not hungry." The navigator rejected quietly.

"Psst. There're skeletons all around us..." Usopp whispered to the orange-haired pirate.

"I know..." Nami whispered back.

"No need to decline out of modesty! Eat as much as you want! Dinosaur meat's especially delicious, you know!" Brogy insisted.

"It's fine, we're not up for much of a meal." The pirates told the friendly giant.

' _It seems we're going to be eaten too...'_ thought Usopp, _'we're too young to die...'_

 _'It's only too obvious that he's trying to fatten us up so he can enjoy human meat...'_ Nami thought, _'but maybe that's the best time to eat humans...'_

"Umm, Mr. Brogy... may I ask you one question?" The navigator requested.

"Hm? What is it, girl?" The giant replied as he chomped down on some meat.

"H-how long does it t-take for the log pose to finish recording on this island?" Nami asked.

"One full year," Brogy answered, sending Nami and Usopp into mental turmoil, "so take it easy while you're here! Gababababa!"

Dorry The Giant's Home

"Gegyagyagyagya!" Dorry laughed as he and Luffy were conversing. The rubber captain was eating from the dinosaur meat that the giant had provided while Naruto and Vivi had opted for the lunchbox that Sanji had made for them.

"This is really good, Mr. Giant!" Luffy exclaimed as he took another bite out of it.

"Gegyagyagya! And your little pirate lunchbox is pretty good too!" The giant complemented, "Though it is a little small!"

"You bet it is! I Would've kicked your ass if you said it tasted bad!" Luffy warned.

"Gyagyagyagyagya! Aren't you a funny little one!" Dorry laughed.

"T-they're getting along so well..." Vivi stated.

"He's weird that way." Naruto commented as he ate quickly.

"What do you mean?" The princess asked.

"It's like he can make friends with anyone, human, giant, animal, anything." Naruto told the blue-haired woman.

"So why're ya living here alone anyways?" Luffy asked the giant, "Don't you have a village to live in?"

"I do. It's called Elbaf, a village for warriors. It's located somewhere on the Grand Line. But my village has a certain law. If a quarrel breaks out in my village and you can't settle it on your own, then we beseech our God Elbaf for his judgement," Dorry explained, "Elbaf is just and bestows divine protection on those in the right. He'll ensure the survival of the righteous. I've gotten involved in a quarrel myself and so this island has served as the battleground between me and a certain other giant. The one who's in the right shall triumph and survive. But it's been a hundred years since! We just can't seem to settle our duel! Gegyagyagya!"

"You've been fighting for over a hundred years!?" Luffy exclaimed.

"That's insane." Naruto said in admiration.

"It's nothing to be surprised about. Our life spans are three times your puny ones," Dorry explained, "gegyagyagya!"

"But even if you do live longer, how could you still want to fight even after a hundred years!?" Vivi asked, "Is there any reason to continuing to fight!? You're trying to kill each other, aren't you!?"

"We forgot the reason ages ago! Gegyagyagya!," Dorry told the princess. He then shifted his focus to the blond-haired pirate who was silently eating away at his lunchbox, "Hm... for some reason you seem pretty familiar."

"Hm? Me?" Naruto questioned.

"Yeah... you give of the same sort of feelings of a beast I saw quite a while ago." Dorry replied.

"A beast?" The first mate asked.

"I'll never forget that day. When I was stilling living in Elbaf, this was when I was but a mere child, everything was peaceful, until something drastic happened," The giant began, "out of nowhere this giant orange fox appeared out of nowhere! Or was it red and a wolf? Whatever, this fox was huge! Bigger than all the giants in the village. For no reason it started attacking the people and destroyed the entire village, it was completely decimated. Just when we thought that the fox would unleash it's most devastating attack it just left. Just like that. It left the whole island in ruins and took decades to rebuild."

"I have a good idea about what you're talking about..." Naruto responded sorrowful. Vivi looked on in curiosity while Luffy simply continued eating the dinosaur meat on offer. Before their conversation could continue they saw one of volcanoes erupt.

"Whoa! It's a humongous explosion!" Luffy pointed out, trying to shift the focus of the conversation from something that he knew his first mate wasn't comfortable talking about openly.

"Looks like it's about time..." Dorry mumbled as he picked up his longsword and stood proudly, "not sure when we exactly decided it, but the eruption of that middle volcano is the signal for battle."

"What! You two can't possibly hate each other so much to actually want to keep on killing each other for over a hundred years!" VIvi exclaimed, "Just what exactly was the cause for your qua-"

"It's not about that anymore," Naruto interrupted, "it's about pride now."

"Ohhhh!" The loud chants of Brogy could be heard as he rushed the other giant on the island with his battle axe only for it to be blocked with his shield. The shockwaves of that alone sent shivers through the spines of every inhabitant on the island.

"Ah..." Luffy moaned as he fell to the ground.

"W-what's wrong?" Vivi asked.

"I'm beat. They're just so huge!" Luffy exclaimed.

Kyuka Island, Grand Line

In another part of the Grand Line, two specific individuals were relaxing in what was known by many as the 'Holiday Island'. These two people were Baroque Works agents and they were fairly high ranking officers as well. One of them was a small girl, with relatively large eyes and circles of blush on her cheeks. She was fairly short in stature and wore her dark red hair tied in braided pigtails. Her attire consisted of a wide-brimmed pink hat with a green band, a dark blue shirt with the word 'golden' written on it in orange, a sky blue cloud-patterned button-down shirt, a maroon-coloured overalls skirt with the top folded down, blue striped stockings and big red shoes with white cuffs and white soles.

The other agent was an average-sized man with a rather frail-looking build who wore glasses. His attire included a white shirt with several frills going down the middle with a blue vest with vertical light blue stripes and a pink bowtie. He also wore yellow pants along with brown shoes. He had the number 'three' visible on his vest design, upper part of his glasses and had a big 'three' achieved through his top knot. He also sported a log pose on his left wrist.

"Mr. 3!" The young girl yelled at the man who was laying in a beach chair next to her, she held a piece of paper in hands.

"What is it, hmm? Ah, hold on a moment," The man, known as Mr. 3, told the girl as he sipped on some tea, "ahh... when it comes to black tea, nothing beats earl grey, you know?"

"I'm bored." The little girl stated.

"You say you're bored, but you're not exactly fond of working either, aren't you?" Mr. 3 pointed out.

"Yup." The young Baroque Works agent replied.

"Then why don't you try to enjoy this blissful time away from our duties? After all, leisurely enjoying our break is also one of our privileges as an officer agent, you know?" Mr. 3 told her, "And also... would you mind not calling me by my codename so casually in a public place like this? Otherwise, don't you think people will find out I'm Mr. 3?"

"Oh, really?" The little girl replied sarcastically.

"By the way... you've been staring intently at that paper for the past few days. What is it exactly?" Mr. 3 asked.

"An order from the boss." The girl answered, to her partner's ire.

"Can't you tell me that sooner!? Dammit Miss Goldenweek!" Mr. 3 shouted in anger.

"Would you mind not spouting my name around in public please?" The expressionless girl, otherwise known as Miss Goldenweek, stated purposely to annoy her partner.

"Whatever," Mr. 3 muttered as he took a look at the paper, "it seems Mr. 5 has been beaten... oh, don't you wish if somebody were to be beaten, it'd be Mr. 2?"

"Then we could be promoted." Miss Goldenweek pointed out.

"Well, if only Mr. 5 has been beaten, the matter is nothing to panic about, don't you think? After all, that man is just an overconfident fool who overestimates his abilities," Mr. 3 stated as he sipped some tea, "no matter how powerful one's Akuma no Mi ability is, without the talent to use it effectively, one will forever be a useless bum. A brilliant criminal uses his brilliant intellect to carry out his objectives, you know? Why don't we go and teach them the terror of antagonising a criminal organisation?"

Little Garden

The fight continued on with both viking-like giants landing heavy blows and both using all their expert Elbaf fighting knowledge to attempt to not only outfight but also outwit the opponent.

"Don't you long for our home, Dorry?" Brogy asked.

"That's exactly why I'll crush you today and leave for Elbaf at once, Brogy! Nuei!" The giant attempted to stab the giant, however, at the last moment Brogy jumped up and evaded the attack, causing the sword to get stuck in the cliffside behind them.

"Seryaaa!" Brogy shouted as he swung his battle axe down on the head of Dorry.

"Agh!" Nami cried out as she and Usopp were looking on at the fight from a distance.

"Nghh!" Dorry groaned as he stepped back, the battle axe only damaging his helmet and thankfully not his head.

"H-h-he took it right on the helmet!" Usopp exclaimed, "If he received that blow just a few centimetres off, it'd have meant instant death! W-what a fight... all of their attacks are aiming for each other's most vital points to kill with one blow!"

"And they've been fighting like this for over one hundred years!?" Nami questioned, "But this is good for us... this is our chance to escape! Let's go, Usopp!"

"Wow..." The sniper mumbled as he looked on at the the two raging giants.

"Usopp?" Nami raised an eyebrow.

"Even without a reason, they fight like this..." Usopp stated in awe.

"God, what a nuisance they are..." The navigator sighed.

"You fool! This is what a man's fight is!" Usopp told the orange-haired woman.

"What?" Nami questioned.

"Let's say that there's a metaphorical flag raised in their hearts... and those flags are more important than their very lives! They don't want their flags to be broken no matter what! And so, to protect that flag, they continue this fight for over one hundred years!" The sniper explained, "Can't you see!? This is a real battle of pride between two warriors!"

"Well, I'm not interested in any of that stuff so I'm going to take off!" The navigator stated.

"I'm going to stay here a bit longer and watch!" Usopp informed the navigator, "This is it! This is what I meant by a brave warrior of the seas! I want to become a proud warrior just like them!"

"Hmph..." Nami wondered as she sat down next to the sniper, "so you want to be a giant, huh..."

"Did you even listen to anything I just said!?" Usopp shouted, "If there's an entire village full of warriors like them, I'd sure like to visit it one day!" The two giants continued to trade blows. They would get knocked over and then get straight back up. They would get hit but make sure that they hit harder, even when their bodies were screaming at them to stop, they continued. This was a fight between two of the brave warriors of Elbaf, neither of them giving in or letting up. The fight was ended when the two of them both struck each other with their shields and fell to the ground in pain.

"73,466 fights..." Brogy mumbled.

"And 73,466... draws." Dorry sighed.

"Gababababa! Hey, Dorry! I've got some rum from guests!" Brogy told the other giant, "These humans, a woman and a man with a long nose!"

"Excellent! I haven't had rum for so long! Pour me some, will ya!? Gegyagyagya!" The longsword-wielding giant requested.

"Of course! Gababababa!" Brogy laughed as he poured out three barrels of rum for his opponent.

"Gegyagyagya!" Dorry laughed as he started walking back to his home, "Thanks for the rum!"

"Your welcome! Gabababa!" The battle axe-wielding giant laughed as he started walking back home.

"Gegyagyagya!" Dorry laughed once more when he got back to his home and noticed that Luffy, Vivi and Naruto were still there along with Carue, "Ah! Could his guests be your crewmates? He said his two guests were a long-nosed man and a woman."

"That must be Usopp and Nami! What's with them? They made such a fuss about not leaving the ship, too! Maybe those two really do like adventures!" Luffy wondered.

"Then I guess I should be thanking you three as well for these drinks!" Dorry thanked the pirates.

"Sorry to change the topic, but earlier you said that it takes a year for the log to finish recording on this island. Is that really true?" The princess asked.

"Haven't you seen the skeletons of them little humans lying on the ground around these parts? Most humans who come here end up dying before their log sets. Some are eaten by the dinosaurs, others give in to heat or starvation. And some even try to attack us..." Dorry grinned, "whatever the case, they all end up perishing on this island. Seems that spending even a single year on this island's just too long for you little humans."

"What do I do... even if I survive on this island for that long... who knows what would become of my country during that time..." Vivi fell on her knees with her head in her hands.

"Yeah, spending a whole year here would get kinda boring. Isn't there some other way, mister?" Luffy asked.

"Well, I do have one eternal pose. But that only points towards my home Elbaf," The giant stated, "in a way, you could say that Brogy and I are fighting over this eternal pose. You want to try stealing it from us by force?"

"Nah, that won't do," The rubber captain shook his head, "we're not trying to go to Elbaf, we just want to go on to the next island. Right?"

"Yes... if we veer off our current course to Alabasta then there's no meaning in sailing at all." The princess told the giant.

"What a predicament." Naruto stated in a bored tone.

"Gegyagyagya!" Dorry laughed, "Then why don't you just test your luck and sail ahead!? If fate wills it, you'll reach your destination!"

"Dahahaha! You think!? Ahahaha! You know it just might work!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Gegyagyagya! You really are one interesting little human! Gegyagyagya!" The giant laughed as he brought a barrel of rum up to his mouth, but before he was able to down the drink it was snatched away from him by Naruto, an incredible feat of strength to be able to do that to a giant, "Hey! What'd you think you're doing!?"

"Yeah, Naruto!" The rubber captain crossed his arms.

"Look at the barrel," Naruto pointed at the barrel of rum, "the metal hoops that bound the staves together have golden nails stuck into them. The ones that we normally carry on our ship have silver nails. So this clearly isn't our rum."

"That doesn't matter! Let's just drink! Gegyagyagya!" The giant yelled as he attempted to take the barrel back only for the blond-haired pirate to jump back, still holding the barrel.

"It's an attitude like that that'll get you killed." Naruto glared up at the giant, making the resemblance between him and the fox that destroyed Elbaf years ago even greater.

"As if I could be killed by rum!" Dorry exclaimed.

"Everyone step back." Naruto ordered as the crew took a few steps back so that if anything happened they would be out of the immediate vicinity. He then pulled out one of his kunai and threw it at the barrel, which promptly exploded.

"Ahh!" The princess cried.

"Gegyagyagya! I guess I should be thanking you, boy!" Dorry laughed.

"The other giant wouldn't plan to do this... and neither would we... there must be someone else on this island." Naruto concluded.

Somewhere Else In The Jungle

Deep into the jungle, far away from the homes of Dorry and Brogy, there was a small wax house that was attracting numerous dinosaurs. One dinosaur in fact approached the house and attempted to take a bite out of it, only for one of it's teeth to break off inside of it.

"Get out of my way, stupid oversized lizard." The dinosaur turned it's head to see Mr. 5 staring it down.

"Leave that to me," Miss Valentine's voice called from above as she drastically changed her weight and dropped down on the dinosaur's head, killing it instantly, " **10,000 Kilo Guillotine!** "

"Hmph." Mr. 5 muttered as he and his partner entered the wax house to find Mr. 3 reading a book while sipping some tea and Miss Goldenweek sitting on one of the wax tables sleeping.

"Hi! You are back so soon, Mr. 5?" Mr. 3 greeted the two Baroque Work agents.

"You are really skilled to build a house in the middle of this jungle," Mr. 5 complemented, "however, let me tell you something. This job is still ours, so you'd better not get involved."

"Because we won't lose again!" Miss Valentine said confidently.

"Lose? I don't think so. You're just weak!" The tea-loving man stated.

"What did you say?" Mr. 5 questioned, "We just underestimated them. That's all. We didn't know that the pirates were protecting the princess."

"You didn't know? What a lame excuse you have. Do you remember that we are professionals? If we lose and let our enemies live, it means that our organisation will be revealed to the world. So when we get an order, we have to complete it!" Mr. 3 explained, "However, since you came here, we will give you thirty percent of our work to you. If you won't accept this job I will make both of you disappear from this world right now... Mr. 5... Miss Valentine... you don't have to be serious about it. Here! Have some tea! This is a very special occasion because on this island we've got another big job to take care of, too."

"A job?" Miss Valentine raised an eyebrow.

"I should thank both of you for giving me a chance to come to this island. Look at this," Mr. 3 placed two wanted posters down, they were of Dorry and Brogy and both of them had bounties of 100 million beli, "I was surprised at first. These posters are from one hundred years ago when the giant pirates were creating turmoil around the world. The two leaders of these pirate groups are those two giants that live on this island. They were known as 'Green Giant Dorry' and 'Red Giant Brogy'. But that was just history. Right now, both of them are living here on this island. Besides, the marines still want them. Both of them are worth 200 million beli. Each of them is worth 100 million beli."

"200 million beli!" Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine shrieked.

"So, do you realise how huge this job is?" Mr. 3 asked, "If we can accomplish our goal and get that 200 million beli reward, we will all get promotions."

"So, that's why you asked me to put a bomb in the rum." The explosive man realised.

"That's right. If we don't use trickery, we can't beat them. As long as you follow my orders, everything should be okay," Mr. 3 stated, "if you know how to adapt your strategy you can defeat anything."

Brogy The Giant's House

"Ah!" Nami cried as she looked at the volcano in the middle of the island erupted.

"Ahh! That volcano!" Usopp exclaimed.

"Gababababa! The fight will begin soon. This is a good day." Brogy grinned.

"You'll fight again? What about your injury?" The sniper asked.

"Don't be silly. We both got hurt last time," Brogy explained, "both of us risk our lives in this fight. We don't use any lame excuses to postpone it."

"Go and get him, Brogy!" Usopp cheered on the giant.

"Sure! I'll crush him down this time! Gababababa!" Brogy stated confidently as he walked off towards the spot where they fight.

"Why do they have to continue this stupid fight?" Nami sighed.

"Don't say that this fight is stupid!" Usopp yelled.

"Anyway, let's go back to our ship because it will take a year for the log pose to finish recording this island," Nami suggested, "we'd better wait for everyone and try to find the way out."

"Wait a minute... I can't fight a dinosaur! So there is no way that we can get out of this jungle!" The sniper stated.

"But didn't you say that you are the brave sea warrior or something like that?" Nami questioned.

"I meant that my heart has become that of a great warrior! I wish to be a warrior who is proud of himself!" Usopp stated.

"We have no choice left. Let's go see Luffy at the other giant's house." Nami said as she started walking off.

"One day, even if I have to lose everything or I have to face death alone on a isolated island, I will die with pride, my last words will be 'I am Usopp, the Brave Warrior of the Sea'!" Usopp told the navigator, "That's what I hope."

"Okay, okay, I understand," Nami sighed as she dragged Usopp over to where the other giant's house was to find Luffy and the others, "then please become a great warrior soon, okay?"

"Sure." Usopp sweatdropped. As Brogy approached the fighting spot he saw Dorry along with Naruto who was riding on his shoulder.

"Dorry! How was the rum?" Brogy asked, "You really enjoyed it, right?"

"For the most part it was very tasteful!" Dorry replied.

"For the most part?" The axe wielding-giant raised an eyebrow.

"Yes! One of the barrels of rum exploded!" Dorry explained, "If it wasn't for this boy right here, I'd definitely be seriously injured!"

"Oh! Thank you, boy!" Brogy thanked the blond-haired pirate.

"You two need to stop the fight for just now." Naruto told the giants.

"Gegyagyagya! We can't do that!" The longsword-wielding giant exclaimed, "It would go against all the traditions of Elbaf!"

"I really don't care about any of that," Naruto dismissed all of Elbaf's culture, which angered both of the giants, "there's someone else on this island that tried to kill you, after that you can do whatever you want."

"Listen, boy. You were born around ten, twenty years ago, you know nothing," Brogy stated, "if we don't fight then that shows that we don't have any pride."

"What would happen if someone interrupted the fight?" Naruto asked, "What if someone tried to purposely take advantage of your fighting in order to kill one of you?"

"You don't understand! Gegyagyagya!" Dorry laughed as he threw the pirate back towards his house with Luffy and Vivi in order for him to stay out of their fight.

"Gabababa! Thanks for that, Dorry!" Brogy laughed as they launched themselves at each other as they fought despite all of Naruto's warnings.

Wax House

"In the fight, if you're not concentrating you will lose. Right now, their concentration is running out! All because of the bomb from the invisible enemy," Mr. 3 stated, still under the impression that his bomb had worked, "our first target 'Green Giant Dorry'! I knew that the bomb couldn't kill him. However, it should have some effect on him inside his body. There won't be any trouble taking care of him. Besides this is a good time because they are just starting to fight! They are just silly fighters after all. As long as we don't have to fight them face-to-face, everything should be fine!" He then proceeded to place down the sketches of the Straw Hat Pirates that were drawn by the Unluckies on the table, "And as for those kids who learned about the boss' secret, we will lure them into a trap. Beginning with the most stupid one. They all will receive a full service from me. My principle is evasion. I have many plans to take care of my enemies without doing it myself."

With Zoro

"This is bad," Zoro muttered as he carried around one of the dinosaurs that he had hunted earlier, "I must be lost. I think I saw this tree before, the tree with liana cover around it. Huh?" The swordsman noticed that leaning up against one of the trees stood a still Nami, "Hey! It's you, Nami? This is great. I was just worrying about how to get back to our ship. By the way, what are you doing here?" Zoro asked as he brought over the dinosaur only for the navigator to remain silent, "Eh? Hey?" He wasn't able to react quick enough before he was encapsulated in a white, waxy substance.

With Usopp and Nami

"Eeek! Dinosaur!" The duo shrieked as they ran as fast as they could away from a chasing dinosaur.

"Hey! You are running too fast!" Nami shouted out at the sniper as he sprinted on ahead, "I can't believe this," Nami said to herself as she hid in one of the bushes. She looked around and managed to find her straw hat-wearing captain waving to her by a tree, "Luffy! I am so lucky! What are you doing here?" The navigator approached the speechless Luffy, "Luf-" Before she could continue she was trapped inside a white blob, "Ahh!"

"Huh?" Usopp turned around to see that his crewmate was no longer following him, "Nami? Nami! Where are you, Nami? Nami! This is bad!" Usopp shouted out as he stumbled upon a clearance and saw a sight that he'd been dying to see ever since he stepped foot on this island, "Luffy!" The rubber pirate was standing ahead of Usopp with a large grin on his face, "We are in big trouble! Nami was eaten by a dinosaur!"

"Is that true!?" Luffy exclaimed while his first mate and the princess were sitting next to him observing the fight between the giants.

"We were running out of the jungle, and suddenly, she disappeared!" Usopp explained, "What am I going to do? I let my friend die!"

"Wait a minute calm down. You said that Nami disappeared. Have you checked around the area?" Vivi asked.

"I am scared to death! How can I check? If it's not a dinosaur then it must be some kind of monster! What else can it be!?" Usopp cried.

"I'm not sure about that. However, we are all on the Baroque Work's wanted list. It's possible Nami was eaten, but what if Baroque Works has sent someone to this island?" Vivi pondered, "Besides, that rum may have been prepared for us to drink."

"Rum? What's wrong with the rum?" The sniper questioned.

"It exploded." Naruto answered, still annoyed that the giants didn't heed his advice.

"What!? The rum exploded!?" Usopp exclaimed.

"Yeah, and I suspect that the other person on this island, probably an agent of Baroque Works, is gonna try and kill one of the giants during the fight." Naruto told the sniper. True to Naruto's prediction, Mr. 3 hid himself behind one of the trees close to where the fight between giants was going on.

"Green Giant Dorry is really strong. Maybe I should lend them a hand." Mr. 3 grinned as he sent out some wax from his fingertips onto the ground on which the giants were fighting on, causing Dorry to slip backwards.

"Gotcha! Dorry!" Brogy exclaimed as he swung his battle axe down hard against the giant's hard shoulder, slicing it open and causing much blood to flow.

"S-so... Brogy won..." Usopp mumbled.

"Someone did something," Naruto stated, "Dorry slipped over when he was walking backwards."

"Who did this!?" Luffy shouted angrily, "Show yourself!" Back down at the fight sight, Mr. 3 was laughing victoriously whilst drinking some tea.

"Mr. 3 did you hear something?" Miss Goldenweek asked her partner.

"Hahahaha that's very strange!" Mr. 3 laughed, "How can we hear a loser's cry in the middle of the jungle?" Brogy stood over his fallen friend with a sombre look on his face.

"We've fought 73,467 times and I won once," The red giant stated with tears running down his face, "gabababa!"

"Are you crying because you are happy?" Mr. 3 asked, revealing his position, "You've easily won over that guy. Anyway, I should thank you."

"Crying because of happiness?" Brogy asked, "What do you know!? Who are you?"

"My codename is Mr. 3. Sorry. I'm just a regular artist. And this is my partner, Miss Goldenweek," The tea-lover pointed to the young girl, "she's a portrait artist. Anyway, you've been captured by me." It was at this point that the giant started feeling his feet become trapped, he looked down and saw hard wax all over his feet.

"Wha!? What is this!?" Brogy cried.

"That was the ability of my Akuma no Mi, the Doru Doru no Mi. With my ability I can create wax from my body," Mr. 3 explained, "because of this, I am able to dispatch of my enemies with ease. It's only a matter of time before you dro-" Before he could continued a kunai flew straight at him at an incredibly fast pace, luckily for the the Baroque Works agent, he managed to move his head so that it only grazed his cheek, "Ah!" He looked up to see Naruto perched on one of the tree branches above.

"It's not smart to reveal your abilities." The blond pirate stated.

"Mr. 3, he was one of the people on the wanted list." Miss Goldenweek pointed out.

"I know," Mr. 3 muttered as he wiped the blood from his cheek, "what business do you have here?"

"What business do you have here?" Naruto asked back, to the annoyance of the duo.

"Heh, a master of stealth such as I isn't going to answer so easily." Mr. 3 smirked.

"If you were a 'master of stealth' then you wouldn't have revealed your Akuma no Mi, you wouldn't have revealed your position and you wouldn't have revealed that you work for Baroque Works." Naruto stated.

"H-how'd you know that we work for Baroque Works!?" The wax man asked.

"You just told me," Naruto smirked, "plus your 'assistant' over there said I was on the wanted list and your names are like all the other agents I've encountered."

"Dammit..." Mr. 3 mumbled as the blond pirate jumped down from the tree branch and started walking towards him, "stay back! **Candle Lock!** " The Baroque Works agent shouted as he started producing wax from his arm and shot it at Naruto, hitting his arm and hardening, "Ha! I've got you!" Naruto, however, ran at the wax man and struck him over the head with his reinforced wax fist, in the process, freeing his hand from the hardened wax.

"So this is the strength of Baroque Works?" Naruto asked, "Not much if you ask me."

"Gah!" Mr. 3 cried, "Miss Goldenweek!"

" **Colour Trap!** " The young girl started painting on the ground near Naruto yellow, " **Warai no Kiiro!** " Naruto stood there, waiting for something to happen, but nothing ever did.

"Was that supposed to do something?" The blond pirate asked, to the shock of Miss Goldenweek.

"W-what!?" Miss Goldenweek exclaimed, "T-that should've hypnotised you!"

"Oh, sorry about that." Naruto stated sarcastically.

"He's like that guy back at Rainbase," Mr. 3 pointed out as he staggered back to his feet, "neither of them can get hypnotised."

"The other guy's scarier." Miss Goldenweek shuddered.

With Luffy, Vivi and Usopp

"Luffy, I don't know who they are, but I'll help Naruto take care of them!" Usopp declared as he started walking off.

"I'll help you." Vivi stated as she followed after the sniper.

"You don't have to find us." In front of them stood the two enemies from Whiskey Peak, Miss Valentine and Mr. 5, carrying a battered and bloody Carue.

"It's you!" Luffy exclaimed.

"I want to return this thing to you because it's not necessary anymore." Mr. 5 stated as he threw down the spot-billed duck.

"Kyayaya!" Miss Valentine laughed.

"Carue!" The princess cried, "Why!? Why did you hurt Carue!? He didn't do anything to you!"

"You're right. This bird didn't do anything. The most dangerous one of you is that blond kid over there, and you are always with him. So to separate you from him we tried to make this bird cry for your help!" Mr. 5 explained, "But this bird really pissed me off! But either way, he's run off to face Mr. 3 and Miss Goldenweek foolishly, I doubt he'll come back alive."

"Carue!" Vivi cried once more.

"Quack..." Carue moaned quietly.

"Kyayayayaya! Silly bird!" Miss Valentine laughed menacingly.

"You bastards!" Luffy shouted, "Are you the ones who put the bomb in that rum!?"

"Yes, so what?" Mr. 5 asked.

" **Gomu Gomu no Pistol!** " Luffy exclaimed as he sent his fist flying at the explosive man, only for him to pull his cuffs down so that the fist connected with his skin, causing a large explosion to occur, promptly knocking the rubber pirate off his feet, "Ah!"

"We've analysed your abilities Straw Hat, don't think the same techniques will work twice." Mr. 5 grinned cockily. As the pirate captain was falling to the ground, he saw the figure of Miss Valentine falling down on him from above.

" **10,000 Kilo Press!** " She announced as she slammed down on Luffy, creating a large crater in the ground beneath them.

"Gah!" Luffy cried as the weight of the woman was crushing him.

" **Kayaku Boshi!** " Usopp shouted as he fired an explosive pellet filled with gunpowder at the woman, causing Miss Valentine to get sent off the rubber captain.

"T-thanks Usopp." Luffy thanked his sniper.

"Luffy, I've got a plan," Usopp started, "you go for the guy making the explosions and I'll go for the parasol girl."

"Okay." Luffy nodded.

"But Luffy, make sure you try and go for his torso, because then he can't reveal his skin quick enough to cause another explosion." Usopp stated as he ran off to fight Miss Valentine.

"What pitiful tactics you're deploying," Mr. 5 taunted, "do you seriously think that a crew of six could possibly take down Baroque Works?"

" **Gomu Gomu no...** " Luffy began as he ran towards the Baroque Works agent.

" **Nose Fancy Cannon!** " Mr. 5 shouted as he picked a booger from his nose and flicked it at the oncoming Luffy, creating yet another large explosion.

"Ah!" Luffy exclaimed once more as he took on the force of the explosion.

"Luffy!" Vivi cried as she tended to Carue's wounds.

"See? I told you that you can't use the same techniques on me." Mr. 5 smirked.

"Heh, I could say the same," Luffy grinned as he started running towards the explosive man once more, while at the same time stretching his arm out and twisting it, " **Gomu Gomu no...** "

"Really? This again?" Mr. 5 raised an eyebrow, " **Nose Fancy Cannon!** " The explosive man yet again flicked a booger onto the path of the rubber pirate, however, this time, Luffy simply ducked underneath it so that the explosion occurred behind him, "Ah!"

" **Rifle!** " Luffy shouted as he punched the explosive man right in the torso, where Usopp had directed him, with his twisted arm, causing the Baroque Works agent to start spinning wildly and get launched into the treetops of the jungle.

"Ah!" Vivi exclaimed happily.

"Shishishi!" The rubber captain grinned widely.

"Gyaaa!" The blood-curdling scream of Usopp could be heard. The captain and the princess looked over to find Miss Valentine sitting on the sniper, "Gyaaa!"

"C'mon Usopp! Just lift her up!" Luffy instructed.

"I-I can't!" Usopp groaned out, "Gya!"

" **Crescendo Stone,** " Miss Valentine stated as he continued to sit comfortably on the sniper, "there's no way he can get up."

"What's she doing?" Luffy questioned.

"Oh no!" Vivi cried, "This was one of the reason's why Miss Valentine was one of the best torturers at Baroque Works! Her ability allows her to sit on her enemy and then slowly increase her weight until she crushes them!"

"Looks like someone's done there homework," Miss Valentine smirked, "it's impossible to escape. Kyayaya!" Usopp tried to grab his slingshot that he had dropped a few inches away, unfortunately, the Baroque Works agent noticed this, "Is this weight too easy for you? Fine then, maybe another hundred kilograms will do you."

"Gyahhhh!" Usopp screamed once more as he could feel his bones shatter.

"Kyayayaya!" Miss Valentine laughed, "This'll teach you for going against Baroque Wo-"

"Get off him!" Luffy shouted as he punched the woman in the face with enough power to lift her heavy state off the sniper, "Don't worry Usopp, I've got her!"

"N-no..." Usopp warily said as he staggered to his feet and grabbed his slingshot, "I'll defeat any opponent! For I am the Great Pirate Captain Usopp!"

"Um, Usopp, I'm the captain." Luffy sweatdropped.

"You seriously think that'll be enough to defeat me? Kyayaya!" Miss Valentine laughed as he revealed herself in the position above them, " **10,000 Kilo Press!** " As the woman fell down quickly, Usopp pulled back his slingshot and put on his sniper goggles.

" **Namari Boshi!** " Usopp exclaimed as he launched his lead pachinko ball at the woman's leg, hitting her right thigh.

"Gah!" Miss Valentine cried as she crashed into the ground, Usopp narrowly rolling out of the way, "Ah!" The woman held her right thigh tightly as she saw the bullet-like wound, "I-it hurts so much!"

"One of the weaknesses of your Akuma no Mi," Usopp smirked, "if you're falling down at such a high speed, if any projectile hits you, then due to the velocity at which you're traveling, it's sure to hurt a lot more."

"Smart." Luffy nodded.

"But that's not all!" Usopp announced, " **Tokusei Tabasco Boshi!** " The sniper fired a pellet containing Tabasco sauce into the eyes of Miss Valentine, blinding her for the time being.

"Wha!?" The Baroque Works agent exclaimed as the fiery hot substance hit her eyes.

"And now, for the grand finale," Usopp began as he started jumping around dramatically, " **Kayaku Hoshi Boshi!** " The sniper fired a pellet filled with gunpowder which blew up against the blind Miss Valentine's face.

"Gahh!" She screeched as he held her face in pain.

"Hahaha! Not even the terrible Baroque Works could defeat the Great Pirate Captain Usopp!" The sniper grinned proudly as he stood over the downed enemy.

"D-don't... t-think... it's over!" Miss Valentine told the sniper as she grabbed his ankles, "I'll break your leg! **10,000 Kil-** "

" **Usopp Hammer!** " The pirate cried as he smacked the woman over the head with his work hammer, promptly knocking Miss Valentine out cold, "Whew! That was close!" The sniper sighed, "What should we do with her Luffy?"

"Let Naruto deal with her," The captain stated, "he'll get some information out of her."

"Oh..." Vivi muttered, knowing full well what he meant by that.

With Naruto

"What is this!?" Brogy shouted as he was pinned against the ground by thick, hard wax.

"Hahaha!" Mr. 3 laughed, "You'd better not move. My candle jacket is stronger than steel! Even though a giant has a lot of power, he can't do anything when he is tied up! You lost your guard when you were happy with that victory, Red Giant Brogy. Don't look at me like that, I am so afraid of you. Hahaha!" The wax man taunted the giant, "Isn't that good that you have a chance to know the result of this long fight? Even though your victory came from the help of one human. What do you think?"

"You have a really big problem with talking too much," Naruto stated, "I'm pretty sick of it to be honest."

"Heh, heh... why do you act like you have the upper hand in this battle?" Mr. 3 asked.

"Because I do." Naruto replied.

"Oh, but you're wrong," Mr. 3 smirked, "because you see, I have something that you don't have."

"And what might that be?" The blond pirate raised an eyebrow.

"Leverage," Mr. 3 grinned, " **Giant Candle Service Set!** " With his wax, the Baroque Works agent created a massive birthday cake-shaped wax arrangement with a pillar on top of the lower floors of the cake with a spinning half-dome on top of that, with burning candles. On the lowest floor of the cake stood Zoro and Nami, their feet trapped in the wax beneath them.

"I feel like I'm a candle on a cake." Zoro stated as he looked at the spinning half-dome above him.

"I can't move my legs." Nami noticed as she squirmed to break free.

"How is the taste of my Candle Service!? Hahaha!" The wax man shouted, "The candle mist that falls from above will make you become a candle soon! You will be one of the best pieces of art! Candle dolls that are filled with the real souls! Just die of the sake of art!"

"That doesn't change anything," Naruto told Mr. 3, "it only gives me more of an incentive to kill you quicker."

"Haha, I thought you might say that, which is why..." The wax man began before the wax holding Brogy down started to completely engulf him, "I've thought a plan to defeat you, without even moving a muscle!" The wax encapsulated-Brogy slowly stood up and looked down on the blond pirate, "Behold! **Candle Giant!** "

"Is that supposed to make a difference?" Naruto questioned, "Is that your trump card that's going to miraculously help you to defeat me?"

"You can be clever all you want, but you can't escape your fate! Now go! My masterpiece! Candle Giant!" The wax man ordered, to which the wax giant started rushing towards the blond pirate. The wax encapsulated-Brogy started swinging punches at Naruto, however, it was noticeable to see that the attacks were much slower than they were before.

' _His attacks are slower, probably because of the wax weighing it down... but still... he probably hits harder,'_ thought Naruto, _'But if I break some of the wax then that Mr. 3 guy will just make some more to put on him. And if I do something that could knock Brogy out himself, I run the risk of him dying from suffocation cause he wouldn't be able to break free... shit.'_ Just before Naruto got hit by a strong fist from the hard wax giant he jumped backwards onto one of the tree branches so he could get a better look at the battlefield and what he could use to his advantage.

"Gargh!" The blond pirate's acute ears heard the muffled shouts of Brogy coming from within the wax as he swung another punch at Naruto, only for him to dodge with his immense agility. The bombardment of attacks didn't stop there, the blond pirate was continually having to evade attacks that, if hit, would surely break most of his bones.

"C'mon! Naruto!" Nami cheered on the first mate.

"No matter how much you cheer it won't change a thing," Mr. 3 told the navigator and the swordsman, "eventually that blond brat will run out of energy and collapse, while my wax giant doesn't need energy."

"But it does need yours." Zoro pointed out.

"Hmm..." Naruto hummed to himself as he threw one of his kunai at the Baroque Works agent.

"Ah!" Mr. 3 cried as he fell over in an attempt to dodge the projectile. While he managed to avoid getting hit, his lapse of concentration caused for the wax to weaken for around five seconds before Mr. 3 noticed this and immediately hardened it again.

"So if he doesn't focus then the wax weakens..." Naruto mumbled to himself.

"Grah!" Brogy's shouts could be heard from inside the wax as he attempted, once more, to punch the pirate with a powerful fist in order to destroy him. However instead of jumping away like he normally did, he instead jumped onto the fist and started running up to the head of the giant.

"Fool." Mr. 3 grinned as the wax that Naruto was running on started to become more liquid-like and eventually trapped his feet in it so he couldn't move, like his trapped crewmates.

"H-he's stopped moving!" The navigator cried.

"I control wax! Every bit of that giant I control!" The wax man shouted, "If you even touch the wax then I can change it from a solid to a liquid in seconds!" Naruto, however, simply smirked at the statement.

" **Akuma Fokkusu Ken!** " Naruto infused as much energy, or chakra as he started to realise, into his fist and punched the wax as hard as he could, allowing his fist to also be captured by the wax as well.

"How stupid could you be!? Hahaha!" Mr. 3 laughed.

"Heh," Naruto grinned, " **Rasengan!** " There was a moment of silence before everyone could see a blue, glowing light come from within the wax.

"What's that?" Miss Goldenweek questioned. Suddenly there was a massive eruption from inside the coat of white, spraying the candle wax everywhere like a water fountain.

"What!?" Mr. 3 cried as he saw the wax arm of his Candle Giant go everywhere, "T-to break through the wax... what is that!?" The Baroque Works agent quickly hardened the wax around the giant's arm once more so that Brogy couldn't break free.

"So much for a masterpiece," Naruto taunted as he jumped back onto one of the treetops, however, before he could land, the entire tree exploded, alarming the crew "What!?" The blond pirate looked down and saw Mr. 5 aiming a booger towards him.

" **Nose Fancy Cannon!** " He fired the booger straight for the head of Naruto.

"Oh this guy again..." Naruto muttered as he twisted his body while he was falling to expertly avoid the attack.

" **Nose Fancy Double Cannon!** " Mr. 5 exclaimed as he aimed two boogers with each of his hands and fired them at the blond pirate who was soaring down towards him. Naruto managed to direct himself between both of them, " **Nose Fancy Ca-** "

"Die," Naruto landed on his feet and put his hand up to Mr. 5's head, " **Maindo Hakai.** " There was a long moment of stillness, with neither of the two moving, that was, before the explosive man collapsed to the floor of the jungle, dead, with blood pouring from his nose and mouth.

"M-Mr. 5... he's... dead..." Mr. 3 stuttered out. Not because he had any care about the death of the other officer agent, it was because of how easily he had been killed.

"You're gonna be soon." Naruto grinned as he approached the wax man, only for him to be stopped in his tracks by a raging kick from the giant, fortunately for the pirate however, he managed to step back just in time to evade the attack.

"You still have to get through my Candle Giant!" Mr. 3 proclaimed, "And there's no way that you could possib-" He was cut off mid-speech as the blond pirate stabbed the wax man with his kunai right in the gut, "Guh..." The focus and concentration that Mr. 3 had been using to control Brogy with his wax had now completely diminished. The Candle Giant's wax dripped slowly off the giant.

"You should've been focusing more on fighting instead of talking," Naruto stated before he pulled the blade out and looked at Miss Goldenweek who was staring at the dead body of Mr. 5 and her partner who was laying on the ground bleeding out, "I'll kill you too if you don't get out of here." The young girl didn't need any more than that before she started walking off.

"Good job." Zoro grinned.

"How are we gonna get out of this candle thing!" Nami questioned.

"I'll cut off both of my legs." Zoro stated as he unsheathed his katana.

"Cut off your legs!? Are you kidding?" Nami shouted, "This is not the time for a stupid joke!"

"I thought that with Mr. 3 dead then it would've collapsed," Naruto mumbled to himself, "oh well, I'll just destroy the pole," He then jumped up the floors of the cake-like wax structure and started walking up the pole in the middle of the structure, " **Rasengan!** " The young blond pirate yelled as he slammed the spinning blue orb of chakra into the solid wax pole, destroying it completely. He then made sure to destroy each one of the candles so that they wouldn't turn his crewmates and Brogy into wax dolls.

"Finally..." Nami sighed as she stepped off onto the floor of the jungle and stretched her muscles that had remained motionless for so long.

Going Merry

"This is so strange. I've been waiting for them for a while. How come nobody has shown up?" Sanji asked himself as he stood on the deck of the Going Merry looking into the jungle, "There must be something wrong with Nami and Vivi. If so, I can't cook this giant lizard now. I'd better find them," The cook stepped off the ship and started exploring the jungle in an attempt to find the princess and the navigator, "Nami! Vivi!"

"Grr!" He heard a tiger growl as it stepped out from the thick trees. It didn't take long for Sanji to beat the beast in a fight and use it to carry him.

"Answer me! I love you!" Sanji called out to Nami and Vivi. He traveled around on the tiger for a while before he came across a big white house made out of wax, "Huh? What's this?" He walked into the house to find no one there, but what was there was a tea set, "Nice!" Sanji sat down and made himself some tea. He drank it slowly as he tranquilly savoured the taste of the drink. "I almost forgot! This is not the time to have a tea break! Maybe Nami and Vivi are waiting for my help!" The cook put the cup of tea down and started waking out of the small wax house, "That's too bad. How come there is a comfortable room in the middle of the jungle?" He then suddenly heard a ringing sound come from a basket in the corner of the room, "What?" The cook picked up the basket and pulled out a Den-Den Mushi and proceeded to answer the call, "Hello! This is the shitty restaurant. What do you want to order?"

"Stop playing, idiot! Why don't you send me a report?" The voice from the Den-Den Mushi ordered.

"Report?" Sanji raised an eyebrow, "Umm... who are you?"

"It's me. Mr. 0." The voice revealed.

"Mr. 0?" Sanji said to himself as he thought, ' _If I remember correctly... didn't Vivi say that Mr. 0 was the enemy boss' codename? Which would mean that the man on the other side of this Den-Den Mushi right now is one of the Shichibukai!?'_

"It's already been quite some time since I sent you my orders. What is your status, Mr. 3?" Mr. 0 asked.

' _Mr. 3! So that must be the owner of the Den-Den Mushi here...'_ Sanji realised, _'Alright, I think I understand the current situation now... this is the enemy's secret hideout and a guy called Mr. 3 is on this island to hunt down Vivi. Dammit... I really shouldn't have been caught up in some hunting game! I hope the guys are all safe...'_

"What are you being so silent for?" The shichibukai questioned, "I'm asking you a question. Have you eliminated Princess Vivi and the Straw Hat Pirates or not?"

"Yes, I've carried out my mission alright," Sanji answered, "all the people who know of your secret are now no more, so there is no more need for further pursuit."

"I see. Good work... the Unluckies are headed your way right now," Mr. 0 informed the cook posing Mr. 3, "once they confirm your mission's success, they'll hand you a certain package."

"The Unluckies?" Sanji questioned, "A package?"

"That's right. An eternal pose to Alabasta... once you receive it, head to Alabasta with Miss Goldenweek immediately," Mr. 0 ordered, "the time has come... we must now carry out the most crucial step of our plan. You will await further details once you arrive at Alabasta." Sanji looked to his right to see that an otter and an eagle had poked two large holes through the wax house.

"The hell?" The cook raised an eyebrow.

"What's the matter?" The shichibukai asked.

"No, it's n-" Sanji couldn't continue before Miss Friday flew straight at him, making him jump away from the Den-Den Mushi, "Gah! They're those animals from Whiskey Peak! Aghh!" He cried as he jumped over the attack of the Mr. 13, "Trying to kill me, are you now? That's some big balls you've got, you damned, dirty four-eyed monkey!" Sanji then proceeded to kick the otter in the face, incapacitating him for the current time. The eagle then showed the cook two shotgun barrels on it's back and aimed them at him, "Didn't I tell you to quit it! You overgrown chicken!" Sanji grabbed the bird by the head with his feet and twisted him in the air before he slammed it into the floor of the wax house.

"What happened?" Mr. 0 asked through the Den-Den Mushi.

"Oh, never mind that. It's really nothing," Sanji stated as he returned to the shichibukai, "one of the Straw Hats turned out to be just barely alive, but I finished him off for sure so worry not."

"One of them was alive?" Mr. 0 questioned, "Didn't you just say you had carried out the mission successfully?"

"Ah, well I thought I had. But one of the buggers was a lot more tenacious than I thought." The cook explained.

"So in short, you had given me a false report at that time." The shichibukai stated.

"Well... I suppose that's true if you want to get technical... but I really did finish him for sure just now. So there's really no need for further pursuit." Sanj insisted.

"Fine... just head for Alabasta straight away then," Mr. 0 ordered, "this will be the last time I contact you by Den-Den Mushi. I can't afford the marines to intercept any of our calls. From hereon, all orders shall be delivered the traditional way. That is all. Godspeed, Mr. 3..." The head of Baroque Works then ended the call and turned to his partner, the dangerous, Miss All-Sunday, "Miss All-Sunday."

"Yes?" The woman looked at her boss.

"Send Mr. 2 to Little Garden," The shichibukai ordered, "his orders are to lie in wait amidst the route between Alabasta and Little Garden and assassinate Mr. 3!"

"Rather violent, aren't you," Miss All-Sunday commented, "Sir Crocodile."

"I still have more than enough capable officers... do you really wish to talk back to me?" Crocodile threatened.

"No, no. I'll carry out your orders at once..." Miss All-Sunday stated as she left the palace that they had set up as their base. Meanwhile at Little Garden, Sanji was looking over the two animals known as The Unluckies that had tried to attack him.

"So what the hell were these things? Hm?" The cook noticed an eternal pose roll across the floor, "This is..."

Grand Line Seas

On one of the thousands of marine galleons, one officer in particular was running through the ship to the captain's quarters.

"Captain!" The marine officer cried, "Captain Smoker! We've just intercepted a highly peculiar call!"

"What!?" Smoker shouted as he rose from his seat, "Play it for me!"

"Yessir!" The officer played the recording of the message they intercepted through his Den-Den Mushi.

"Play it back one more time." Smoker ordered, trying to understand what the duo meant when they spoke.

"Yessir!" The marine nodded.

"Tashigi! You come here and listen to this too." Smoker demanded.

"Kashu, one of the Ryo Wazamono Grade Swords! What an exquisite hitatsura!" Tashigi exclaimed as she walked into the captain's quarters, "To think I could come across a masterwork blade so soon... the Grand Line sure lives up to its reputation!"

"Tashigi! Are you even listening, you sword-obsessed freak!?" The marine captain shouted.

"Y-yes, captain!?" The swordsman stuttered, "Did you need a cup of coffee or something?"

"Just get over here!" Smoker ordered, to which the woman obediently ran towards him, "Listen carefully to this conversation between two men."

"It's from a call that we intercepted just now. Shall I play it back now, Sergeant Major?" The marine asked.

"Y-yes, please go ahead." Tashigi nodded. The marine officers pressed down on the Den-Den Mushi to play the recording.

"Crrk... tsst... Princess Vivi and... Straw Hat Pi-... or not? Crrk... yes, I've carried out my order-... crrk... Mr. 0... crrk..." The Den-Den Mushi spat out the intercepted message.

"Straw hat!? As in the Straw Hat Pirates!?" Tashigi exclaimed.

"Yes... the source was too far away for us to intercept the call clearly but we can still note four keywords from this conversation," Smoker explained, "'Princess Vivi', 'Straw Hat', 'Mr. 0', and 'orders'."

"Could it be that the Mr. 0 from the intercepted call has something to do with the suspicious swordsman called Mr. 11 who we apprehended yesterday at Runesu!?" Tashigi questioned.

"Hm, good point. If these numbers are their codenames and there's talk about carrying out orders... then we might be dealing with a secret criminal organisation." Smoker stated as he walked over to a man who was tied to the mast of the ship. He was a short man, with long wavy grey hair. He had tattoos of the number 'eleven' on each side of his face, and a large black top hat. He wore a dark blue coat with a grey collar and yellow buttons. Underneath he wore a purple puffy shirt and black pants. This man was Mr. 11.

"Mr. 0? Criminal organisation? I haven't got the faintest idea what you're talking about," The man stated, "seems like you're making too much out of your guesswork."

"Then how do you explain this letter I found in your pocket with order written on it!?" Smoker yelled at the criminal swordsman.

 _'Wha!? I... I'm sure I burned that letter up!'_ thought Mr. 11 before he tried to explain himself, "Ah! That letter is actually-"

"That letter?" The marine captain raised an eyebrow, "We never found any letter in your pockets. But now that you've said that, we know that there is, in fact, a criminal organisation," Smoker grinned as he walked to the bow of the ship next to Tashigi, "Princess Vivi. If I recall correctly, that's the name of the Alabastan princess who's currently missing."

"Speaking of Alabasta, I hear the kingdom is in the midst of a coup d'état," The Sergeant Major pointed out, "you don't think the Straw Hat Pirates and this mysterious criminal organisation has something to do with all that, do you?"

"I don't know, but this is the only lead that we've got on the Straw Hat Pirates right now." Smoker stated as he lit two cigars in his mouth at once.

"So then..." Tashigi mumbled as she realised where the marine captain would go from here.

"That's right. Request headquarters for an eternal pose." Smoker ordered one of the officers.

"Yessir!" The marine officer saluted.

"Why don't we go see exactly what the desert kingdom of Alabasta has in store for us..." Smoker stated as he looked upon the sea with a grin.

With Naruto, Nami, Zoro, Carue and Brogy

"Ohhhh!" Brogy cried as tears fell from his eyes like a waterfall, "Ohhhh! Ohhhh!"

"Even his crying is splitting my ears!" Nami yelled as she held her eyes.

"It's like looking at a waterfull!" Zoro pointed out.

"Hey, look!" The crew turned to see Luffy standing behind them, with both Usopp and Vivi behind him, "You can see a rainbow behind him!"

"Quack!" Carue grinned as he gleefully ran over to the princess.

"My ears..." Vivi groaned.

"I understand completely, Master Brogy!" Usopp cried.

"Uoohhhh!" Brogy continued crying, "Ohhh!"

"Seems I've passed out for a bit..." Dorry sat up, while holding his shoulder to try to prevent the bleeding.

"Dorry..." Brogy gasped, "You're alive!?"

"It's most likely... because of our weapons..." The green giant stated as he slowly stood up.

"The weapons!?" Usopp questioned as he wiped his tears, "Ah! That's right!"

"Even Elbaf's weapons couldn't withstand all the stress of a duel between giants that's been going on for a hundred years..." Dorry stated.

"Unbelievable... it's a miracle." Usopp sighed.

"Gabababa!" Brogy laughed as he hugged his best friend.

"Don't hug me so much, Brogy, you're hurting my wounds." The wounded giant flinched.

"Thank God, you've survived, my dearest friend!" Brogy exclaimed, "Gababababa!"

"Gegyagyagya..." Dorry laughed with his giant friend.

"A miracle? It's only expected... if anything, it's a miracle those weapons still look like weapons even after one hundred years of constant usage," Naruto stated, "not to mention the wielders themselves still wanting to fight after so long...

"What a splendid day this is! Let us thank the God of Elbaf!" Brogy exclaimed.

"Ha. Are you that happy about finally landing a blow on me and making me pass out?" Dorry grinned.

"You know that's not the reason, you big fool!" Brogy yelled as he smacked the green giant on the arm.

"Ow! Stop touching my wounds!" Dorry shouted, "Gegyagyagya!"

"Gababa! You intend to start something!?" The red giant exclaimed.

"I intend to crush you flat, alright!" Dorry shouted.

"Why're you starting a fight already!?" Nami yelled.

"Let's just go back to Dorry's house." Naruto stated as he started walking off, however, he couldn't get far before he was stopped in his tracks quickly.

" **Doru Doru Arts: Ken!** " The crew heard the voice of Mr. 3 shout out as he swung at the first mate with a large sword made out of wax. Despite Naruto's speed, he couldn't react in time before the blade hit his left forearm and cut his arm in half.

"Gya!" Naruto screamed as blood started gushing out of the gaping wound.

"Naruto!" Luffy exclaimed, " **Gomu Gomu no Bazooka!** " The rubber pirate quickly defeated Mr. 3 with a powerful two handed open palm blast to the torso.

"Naruto!" Vivi cried as she rushed over to the blond pirate, "Carue! Give me the first aid!"

"Quack!" The duck sprinted over to the princess with a box on his back. Vivi quickly took out some bandages and wrapped them around his left bicep. Within seconds the bandage was already soaked in blood.

"Ah!" Naruto cried out in pain, "W-wrap the arm up!" Vivi nodded and, as fast as she could, wrapped the bandages around the cut off arm.

"Hello!" Sanji's voice called as he skipped through the trees to reveal himself to the pirates, "Nami and Vivi! And the rest!"

"Now's not the time!" Zoro shouted at the cook. The cook raised an eyebrow before he looked down on Naruto's situation.

"Ah! What happened!" Sanji questioned.

"I'll explain later!" Zoro replied.

"We should head back to the ship!" Usopp shouted as he and the crew along with the two giants ran back to the Going Merry, with Naruto riding Carue, sprinting to the ship.

"Fuck..." Naruto panted as he held his bicep.

"W-where were you Sanji?" Usopp asked, shaken up by what just happened.

"Talking to Mr. 0." Sanji replied to the shock of the crew.

"You were talking with Mr. 0?" Vivi asked.

"Yeah, I guess... it seems he mistook me for Mr. 3." The cook stated.

"And now he thinks that we're all dead!?" Vivi cried.

"Yeah. Or at least, that's what I told him." Sanji told the princess.

"Just when we finally throw off our pursuers, we can't even step a foot off of this island!" Usopp exclaimed.

"What? Do we still have unfinished business here or something? I mean, I managed to get this from them and all..." Sanji held up the eternal pose that he found in the wax house, much to the shock and surprise of the pirates, "huh?"

"An eternal pose to Alabasta! We can set sail!" Vivi exclaimed as she hugged the cook, "Thank you so much, Sanji! I was so worried over what to do!"

"Y-you're... welcome... deheh," Sanji grinned as he embraced the princess, "I didn't think it'd make you this happy..."

"Guys, we've still got something to talk about," Luffy reminded the crew, completely serious this time, for a change, "Naruto just got his arm cut off! What're we gonna do?"

"We... can probably stitch his forearm back to his bicep." Vivi informed.

"B-but the veins and arteries and other stuff won't be able to reconnect..." Nami stated, causing the crew to go into a state of sadness.

"So..." Usopp started, "Naruto won't be able to use his left arm... ever..."

"No!" Luffy shouted, refusing to believe that his first mate would have to accept living with one arm, "We'll find a doctor that'll help him!"

"Well, there's a doctor in Elbaf you could go to." Brogy informed the pirates.

"We can't go there, that'd take too much time..." Luffy mumbled, "we just have to hope there'll be a good doctor on the next island..."

"Then this is the time to set sail, we can't just loiter around here forever!" Nami told the captain.

"Ah, that's right. You haven't forgotten about our hunting contest, have you?" Sanji asked the swordsman.

"Hm? Oh I'm sure I've won that. I caught a rhino about this big." Zoro held out his arms as far as he could.

"A rhino!? Can you even eat that thing?" Usopp questioned.

' _Hunting contest?'_ Both of the giants thought as the crew reached the ship with Carue already on the ship with Naruto laying on his bed in the men's room, holding his wrapped up arm.

"Alright then, Mr. Giant! Mr. Round!" Luffy shouted to the two giants, "We'll be taking off now!"

"I see... busy lil' buggers, aren't cha?" Brogy grinned.

"It's a shame but we won't ask you to stay longer. I hope your country's safe, girl." Dorry said to the princess.

"Thank you." Vivi nodded.

"See ya then! Don't die anymore!" Luffy waved as he got on the ship.

"Just you wait. My catch is definitely bigger." Sanji told the ex pirate hunter.

"Ha, sure it is." Zoro smirked.

"Master! I'll go to Elbaf for sure one day!" Usopp shouted out to Brogy before he got on the Going Merry.

"Look! My lizard is clearly bigger." Sanji told the swordsman as he pointed at the game the cook had hunted.

"Are your eyes just for show or something?" Zoro questioned as he pointed at the dead rhino, "The bigger animal is my rhino."

"Who cares, they both look pretty tasty to me." Luffy stated.

"You stay out of this!" The swordsman and the cook yelled at the captain.

"How long are you two going to bicker?" Nami asked, "We can't even carry all that much meat. Just pack up as much as we need and let's go already. It's time to set sail!"

"As you wish, Nami!" Sanji wooed.

"Hey, Usopp. Mine's clearly bigger, right?" Zoro questioned.

"Huh? I couldn't care less." The sniper stated.

"Is a tie no good?" Vivi asked.

"There's no tie in a contest!" Zoro shouted.

"C'mon lets go!" Nami ordered as they started packing as much meat from the two animals as they could and started sailing through the jungle to the other side of the island.

"Do you think we should've packed some more of that meat?" Luffy wondered.

"Don't be stupid. We don't even have enough space to preserve any more than this," Usopp told the rubber captain, "Are you trying to sink our ship?" Ahead of the Going Merry, stood the two giants on the shore of the island.

"Ah! It's the giants!" Luffy notified the rest of the crew.

"They've come to see us off!" The sniper exclaimed.

"The most important reason why all the little ones who come to this island." Brogy began.

"Do not reach the next island lies straight ahead," Dorry finished, "you all risked your lives so that our pride can remain untarnished."

"Thus, in turn, no matter the foe..." The battle axe-wielding giant started.

"We must not let your flag of pride be tarnished either!" Dorry continued.

"Trust in us and sail straight ahead!" Brogy finished, "No matter what happens, sail only straight ahead!"

"What're they talking about?" Zoro questioned.

"Got it!" Luffy stated, "Sail straight ahead!"

"Farewell." Usopp waved to the giants.

"Let us meet again." The longsword-wielding giant told the pirates.

"One day in the future." Brogy stated.

"Look! Up ahead!" Nami yelled as a giant goldfish, double the size of the two giants combined, rose from the water.

"So you've come, 'Island-Devourer'." Dorry grinned.

"In the name of Elbaf, we vow to clear a path!" Brogy announced.

"What is that thing!?" The navigator cried.

"Is it a sea king!?" Vivi exclaimed.

"Grab the helm or we're going to be swallowed alive!" Nami instructed.

"What in the world... is that a giant... goldfish!?" Usopp cried, "Huh? A giant goldfish? I feel like I've heard of that before..."

"Usopp! Hurry!" Nami yelled.

"Quack! Quack!" Carue quacked in an alarmed state.

"I... I won't!" The sniper stated, "We'll be going straight ahead! R-right, Luffy?"

"Yup, you bet." Luffy grinned as the ship started sailing into the mouth of the goldfish.

"Don't be ridiculous! This is completely different than getting swallowed by Laboon!" The orange-haired pirate cried.

"Yeah, yeah, just pipe down already." Luffy waved off the navigator.

"If we don't turn this ship around this instant, we'll-" Nami began.

"Nami. Give it up already." Zoro interrupted the navigator.

"Luffy! You sure those giants are trustworthy, right?" Nami asked.

"Yup." The rubber pirate replied.

"Are you serious!? We're really going to sail straight into that monster!?" The princess cried.

"Oh no! It's too late to do anything now!" Nami screamed as the ship got gulped up by the giant goldfish.

"Well, well, well. Haven't you grown quite a bit, Island-Devourer?" Dorry commented.

"The most surprising thing isn't the size of this goldfish... but rather the size of the faeces it craps out after swallowing islands whole!" Brogy exclaimed.

"Yes, certainly... faeces enormous enough to be called the 'vacant island'," Dorry stated, "gegyagyagya... I still remember the time we landed on it, mistaking it for dry land!"

"Aye, those fond days of adventure... the memories come flooding back when I talk of them!" Brogy grinned as he and the green giant held their weapons behind their heads while flexing as hard as they could.

"Only the 'Great Serpent Soaked in Blood' can withstand out attacks!" The longsword-wielding giant yelled.

"Behold the mightiest spear of we giants of Elbaf!" Brogy shouted as he and Dorry, putting all their strength into it, swung their weapons into the water towards the giant goldfish, creating two compressed air beams, " **Hakoku!** " The air beams cut through the very ocean itself along with the goldfish, in the process, sending the Going Merry flying out of the back of the throat of the goldfish and into the sky.

"Woohoo!" Luffy cheered, "We're flying! Don't turn back now! Fly straight ahead! They're just so... freakin' big!"

"They cut... the ocean itself... so this is... the power of Elbaf's warriors..." Usopp cried, "absolutely stunning!"

"Now go!" The giant duo announced as they held up their broken weapons which couldn't take the force and power of their last attack.

"Gababababa!" Brogy laughed heartily.

"Gegyagyagya!" Dorry laughed alongside his friend, "By the way, Brogy. There's something I can't quite seem to recall."

"You know the same goes for me too..." Brggy scratched his beard before the middle volcano erupted once again, "ah. The centre volcano. Well, whatever! Let's settle things once and for all today!"

"Yes! We can think things out after that!" Dorry yelled in agreement. Meanwhile, having departed from Little Garden, the Going Merry sailed calmly along the seas of the Grand Line towards Alabasta.

"Guys listen! One day! I swear! I'll visit Elbaf and the village of warriors!" Usopp proclaimed.

"Alright, Usopp! We'll go for sure one day!" Luffy announced as he danced and sang beside the sniper, "To the home of those giants! El-baf baf- El-baf-baf! Where everyone is gigantic! Cause they're giants!"

"Aren't those two lively..." Nami sighed as she turned to Zoro who was training vigorously beside her, "I don't know about you, but I feel exhausted from all that earlier... by the way... where's Vivi?"

"She said she was gonna go see Naruto, now don't interrupt me," Zoro told the navigator as he swung a bar with several heavy weights on it, "if only I could have cut that candle-wax then there wouldn't have been any trouble. Still weak... must get... stronger... so I can even cut through steel!"

"Nami!" The voice of Sanji wooed as he danced down to the navigator on the deck, "I have prepared the finest of dishes for you and Princess Vivi," He then noticed Usopp and Luffy drooling over his shoulder, "your shares are in the kitchen."

"Woohoo!" The duo cheered as they rushed to the kitchen.

"Shall I deliver this dish to the princess?" Sanji asked.

"No, no... just wait for her to get back up her." Nami told the cook, who obediently obeyed and stayed put.

The Men's Room

Naruto laid on the blue couch in the men's room. His head was propped up against a pillow with his severed arm placed upon the table in the middle of the room. Vivi was changing the blood soaked bandages that covered the blond pirate's bicep. Miraculously, when the princess removed the bandages, the bleeding had almost stopped.

"Wow, the bleeding's stopped," Vivi stated, astonished, "that's amazing when the wound's so big."

"Yeah..." Naruto replied, still in pain, "listen... about Alabasta... I need to warn you about something..."

"W-what?" The princess questioned.

"Well... it's just..." Naruto started, "I haven't told the others this, but... when we see Crocodile and we start fighting him... something... might take over me."

"W-what do you mean?" Vivi asked, confused.

"That thing... that you saw in the vision... might take over me..." Naruto began, "and if that happens... I need you to leave right away."

"Stop talking about that," Vivi told the blond pirate, to his surprise, "that doesn't matter right now. What we need to focus on his your arm. I don't know how we can patch this up."

"Don't worry, if it can't be fixed I'll just fight with one arm," Naruto stated with a grin. There was a small moment of silence between the two, "by the way, how old are you?"

"Why?" Vivi raised an eyebrow.

"Just wondering." The first mate replied.

"Sixteen." Vivi answered.

"And you're already looking after a whole country," Naruto sighed, "doesn't it get annoying after a while though? You would have to look after everyone."

"Yeah... it gets a bit tedious after a while, with everyone's needs and such," Vivi agreed, "but at the end of the day, I love my country and I want to lead it into a good future," There was another silence as she wrapped another bandage around his bicep, "how old are you?"

"Fifteen." Naruto replied.

"And you're out here, in the Grand Line, as a pirate," Vivi began, "that's also pretty incredible."

"Meh," Naruto shrugged, "it's alright." There was yet another silence before Vivi stood up and looked down at the blond pirate.

"There you go," The princess stated, "I've done the bandages, now you stay there until we get to the next island."

"Oh, are you a doctor now?" Naruto asked.

"I've had a bit of training." Vivi informed the blond pirate.

"Why do you have training in so many things?" Naruto questioned.

"It's what happens when you're a princess. I'm sure you can relate." Vivi stated sarcastically.

"Oh, for sure," Naruto replied, with as much sarcasm as the princess as she started walking back out to the deck. But before she walked out the door, Naruto spoke to her, "Thanks for that."

"Y-you're welcome." Vivi responded, flustered, as she quickly exited the room. When she arrived at the deck she could see Luffy playing around, excited about the possible adventures that the next island might hold.

 **There you go, another chapter done. If any of you are wondering, Nami won't get sick in this fic. And as for Naruto's injury, it might be permanent, it might not, you just have to wait to see. With Miss Valentine, I've also got something planned for her, not saying that she'll be part of the crew, or will she? You never know. I hope you enjoyed.**


	7. Drum Island

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, Naruto or any of the characters; all rights go to Eiichiro Oda and Masashi Kishimoto**

Vivi walked out of the men's room and back onto the deck to which she was greeted with the sight of Luffy sitting atop his 'special seat', Usopp was inspecting his slingshot to see if he could make any improvements, Nami was reading the most recent newspaper, Sanji was in kitchen preparing another one of his special drinks for the girls, with Zoro training vigorously, still annoyed at himself for not being able to take action against Mr. 3 back at Little Garden.

"Oh, hey Vivi!" Nami greeted the princess as she was eating the dish that Sanji had prepared for her, the navigator then handed another dish to her, "Here's your share."

"Thanks." Vivi thanked as she graciously took the food.

"How's Naruto going?" Nami asked.

"He's alright I guess," Vivi replied, "he's acting as if he's fine… but I really doubt it considering the severity of the wound."

"There must be doctors in Alabasta, right?" Nami asked.

"There are, but I doubt he'll last that long with all the blood loss," The princess said grimly, "at most I'd give him a week, if that. The only chance we have for him to survive is that there's an extremely high-skilled doctor on the next island."

"We can hope…" Nami mumbled in a sad tone, "Vivi… you should read this." The navigator handed the newspaper that she was reading to the princess. As Vivi was reading through the various news articles she came across one in particular that shook her to the core.

"Wha!?" Vivi cried, causing the crew to become alarmed.

"What is it?" Luffy questioned from atop the head of the Going Merry.

"Is it about Alabasta, Vivi!?" Sanji asked as he ran down to the deck from the kitchen.

"That can't be… 300,000 soldiers of the Royal Armed Forces switched sides to join the rebels!?" Vivi gasped, "Originally, the 600 thousand-strong Royal Armed Forces could contain the rebels who were only 400,000 strong… but now the situation is completely opposite!"

"With that, the situation in Alabasta has entered its most critical phase…" Nami stated, "and that was the paper from three days ago. Sorry for not showing it to you until now… I didn't want to worry you any further since we were already sailing as fast as we could."

' _At this rate there'll be a full-blown war with much bloodshed…'_ thought Vivi before she said, "If I can't stop this, then it's all over for the Kingdom of Alabasta! It'll be taken over by Crocodile! It's not good enough to just return alive anymore… if I can't get back soon enough, then a million of my people will be killing each other for no good reason."

"There's a million people there!?" Luffy exclaimed.

"That's quite the burden." Sanji stated. While the other crewmates were talking Nami had noticed something different with the atmosphere around the ship.

"The atmosphere… changed…" The navigator muttered.

"Huh?" Usopp raised an eyebrow.

"The weather's been clear all day," Nami looked up to the sky before she stood up in the middle of the deck, "all of you! We've got some work to do! Take the helm and steer for south. Lower the sails so we can catch wind from portside."

"Got it!" Usopp nodded as he rushed to follow the navigator's instructions.

"What is it, Nami?" The cook asked, "The seas are calm and the weather looks clear to me."

"Wind," Nami stated simply, "I have a feeling… that there's going to be a strong wind coming from ahead. Probably…"

"C'mon let's turn the ship around!" Luffy ordered.

' _Just what could it be… it seems a little different from a normal storm…'_ Nami thought to herself as she looked over the railing. Meanwhile, Vivi had ran to the women's room as she needed to collect herself before she did anything rash. There were so many negative emotions fluctuating within her.

' _I have to return as soon as possible…_ ' she thought to herself as she stared down at the newspaper that she had scrunched up in anger. Quickly, she ran from the women's room to the deck where all the others, aside from Naruto of course, were helping steer the ship in a better direction, "I have a request to ask all of you. I know that it's not my place to make such demands since you've already let me on this boat and all… but with this emerging crisis in my country; I want to go there as soon as possible. Not even a single moment can be spared any more! That's why I ask for this ship to head for Alabasta at the fastest speed! Thus, we need to find an island with a doctor immediately. We have to see to it that Naruto gets better as fast as possible and then head for Alabasta! That'll be this only way this ship can sail at the fastest speed, right!?"

"You bet!" Luffy grinned, "Can't get any faster than that!"

"You sure? Aren't you worried about the lives of a million Alabastans, being a princess and all?" Usopp asked.

"Exactly! That's why we need to get Naruto to a doctor as quickly as possible." The princess explained.

"I like your guts…" Zoro grinned.

"Well said, Vivi! I've fallen for you all over again!" The cook exclaimed.

Men's Room

Naruto laid upon the couch, fast asleep, holding his wrapped up arm in his remaining right arm. To the outside observer, it would seem pretty peaceful, however, it was anything from that in the mind of the blond-haired pirate.

 _Naruto was knee-deep in dirty, disgusting, dark-red water with dark brown walls lining his surroundings with leaking pipes running over the walls. There were many different pathways around him, each of them not at all enticing. Naruto looked intently at one specific pipe that was leaking, he watched the dark-red water drip from the opening and then splash into the water continually, in a repetitive cycle. He didn't move a muscle because he already knew what was waiting for him ahead; he had been here many times before, in his darkest times._

" _ **Ooohhhh!**_ _" The bellowing roars of a creature that sounded like it came from the pits of hell vibrated against the walls and displaced the water slightly. Naruto knew that this was meant to tell him to hurry up. The blond-haired pirate reluctantly started walking down one of the pathways. The further he walked down, the thicker and darker the atmosphere became, until eventually he reached a giant cage-like structure with enough killing intent to make even the most hardened warrior scared out of his wits. The 'cage' had several thick bars that went too high for anyone to see the peak. On the large lock of the cage was a piece of paper with the kanji for 'seal' written on it._

" _What the fuck do you want?" Naruto spat, with as much bitterness and resentment as he could muster._

" _ **You're lucky these bars are in my way, if they weren't I would've eaten you years ago.**_ _" From the darkness deep inside the 'cage' stepped a fox with red-orange fur and red eyes; it had the upper-body structure of a human, complete with opposable thumbs on its clawed hands. It was several times larger than the giants on Little Garden, it's eye alone was bigger than Naruto entirely. The most threatening thing about the beast was the nine swaying tails behind it. This monster was the Kyübi no Yōko._

" _What do you want!?" Naruto shouted, not in the mood to have a conversation with the fox._

" _ **Don't think I wanted to have a chat with you out of the niceness of my heart, you little brat. If I could I would have you killed this instant!**_ _" Kyübi exclaimed, "_ _ **I just wanted to make sure you knew how much of an idiot you are.**_ _"_

 _"If that's all you have to say I'm leaving." Naruto stated as he started walking away._

" _ **It's about the matter of your arm, or lack of, should I say,**_ _" The fox told the pirate, causing him to stop in his tracks, "_ _ **I doubt that I, alone, can heal your arm, despite my powers."**_

" _Why do you care?" Naruto asked Kyübi, but not out of curiosity, but instead out of annoyance and anger._

" _ **Because you're my vessel! And if I have a weak vessel then I'll die along with you!"**_ _The fox reminded the first mate, "_ _ **And without an arm you're considerably weaker… not that you were strong in the first place."**_

" _Is that all?" Naruto questioned, he was in a rush to get out of there._

 _"_ _ **Let me finish, you brat!**_ _" Kyübi yelled at the blond-haired pirate, "_ _ **On the closest Winter Island there's a doctor than can stich up your arm, so go and get their help."**_

 _"How would you know!?" The first mate shouted._

" _ **I've said all I needed to say.**_ _" The fox returned to the dark depths of the prison he was sealed in for as long as his vessel lived._

" _Whatever." Naruto muttered as he quickly exited the massive room that contained the monstrous beast, in the process, himself up from this nightmare that he had been tortured by for all of his life._

"Ah!" Naruto sprung himself from the couch and looked around the room, making sure he was were he should be, he had woken in a cold sweat. He looked down and noticed that he had knocked over his arm, "Fucking Mr. 3… I hope you die a miserable death," He wasn't that angry about his arm, he was angrier that the wax man had caused him to have to see the one thing that he had never wanted to see ever again.

The following day, the crew had decided to ignore the log pose needle pointing towards Alabasta and instead roam the seas in search of an island with a doctor. The heavy snow wasn't helping their plight as well. Because of how risky their journey was, there always had to be someone in the crow's nest with the binoculars, looking out for any sort of land, today, it was Zoro's job.

"Hey!" The swordsman called out from the crow's nest.

"Can you see a doctor from up there?" Luffy asked.

"Of course not, you idiot!" Usopp sneered at his straw hat-wearing captain.

"Uh, guys… do you think a person could… stand on top of an ocean?" Zoro asked the crew.

"I can," Naruto reminded the crew, "but I doubt that there's anyone around here that can do it as well."

"Then how do you explain that?" Zoro asked once more as he pointed out in front of the Going Merry.

"Huh?" The rubber pirate raised an eyebrow as the crew looked at a very confusing sight. In front of the ship, standing on top of the ocean, was a man who was a bit taller than average. He had wavy lips and a sad expression. He wore a chequered jester-like green-blue costume with purple lining at the end of the sleeves, and grey buttons, with a light brown bow and a quiver of arrows on his back. He had dark green pants, and blue shoes with white buckles. The Straw Hat Pirates stared at the peculiar sight for a while.

"Quite cold today, isn't it?" The jester-looking man stated.

"Yeah it is pretty cold today." Luffy nodded.

"Y-yeah, for real. It's freezing today…" Usopp agreed.

"Is that so?" The man questioned.

While the two were talking Naruto was cautiously observing the man. The only weapon that he could see on the man was the bow and arrows on his back.

"Raise the ship!" They heard a voice from beneath the ocean shout.

"Increasing buoyancy!" Another voice yelled. Suddenly, a giant galleon erupted from under the surface of the ocean. It turned out that the man standing on the water was actually just standing on top of the huge ship below him.

"Ah!" The crew cried.

"Is that a ship!?" Luffy exclaimed.

"What's all this shaking!?" Vivi questioned as she and Nami rushed out onto the deck to see the galleon in front of them.

"Ah!" Nami screamed. The ship itself was a large, round ship, much different from most regular ships. The ship had a figurehead that resembled that of a hippo. Another unique feature of the ship was the large steel plating around the galleon, with a star-like pattern with two large gears seen towards the side of the shop. Its Jolly Roger was that of a skull and crossbones with a king's crown on its head and a tongue licking it's metallic lips.

"Mahahaha!" They heard the sinister laugh come from the ship, "Surprised!? Has my submersible ambush-ship 'Bliking' left you speechless!?"

"Oh crap!" The sniper exclaimed.

"A pirate ship…" Naruto commented.

"Whoa…" Luffy gawked.

"Why now of all times…" Zoro muttered. Several of the enemy pirates then attempted to jump from Bliking onto the Going Merry, only for all of them to be struck in the head with a kunai. They dropped lifelessly into the ocean with their blood plaguing the water. Naruto stood on the figurehead of the Going Merry, the culprit for the deaths of the pirates.

"Even with one arm I can still kill you all." Naruto stared directly into the eyes of the remaining pirates.

"What's going on!?" Sanji asked as he rushed onto the deck.

"We're getting ambushed." The rubber captain responded.

"Hmm… that makes seven people in total…" An overweight man walked to stand in front of the opposing pirates; he had a very unusual appearance. He had dark violet hair and a cylinder-shaped jaw made up of tin plates. He dressed in tin-plate armour and a hooded cape. He also wore brown thick gloves and sported a pair of purple and orange woollen shorts around his waist and a pair of thick short boots. The strange man lifted a piece of meat with a knife stuck through it to his mouth, "there can't be only seven people on this ship…" He then crunched down on the meat, along with the knife, seemingly unaffected by the deaths of some of his crewmates, this ruthless man was known as 'Tin-Plate Wapol' the captain of the Bliking Pirates, "well, whatever… let me ask you something…"

' _That man is… Wapol..._ ' Vivi thought to herself.

"The hell!?" Luffy exclaimed, "He ate through that whole knife!"

"Ack! It hurts just looking at it!" Nami cried.

"We wish to head for Drum Kingdom. Do you happen to have an eternal pose or even a log pose on you?" Wapol asked.

"No…" The blue-haired princess lied, "and we've never even heard of that place before…"

"If you're done asking, hurry up and go away." Luffy ordered.

"Oh there's no need to rush through life like that… well, if you don't have it, then I might as well take all your treasures and this ship instead." The enemy pirate captain smirked.

"Please try." Naruto grinned as he started rolling his remaining arm backwards.

"Oh we will!" Wapol then jumped off of his galleon. Naruto attempted to throw another kunai at him, but this time the tin-plate armour guarded himself against it. The tin-plate man jumped onto the railing of the ship and took a large bite out of it, "This ship ain't bad…"

"What the hell is with this dude!?" Usopp cried.

"Don't eat our ship!" Luffy demanded before Wapol took yet another bite out of the ship, "Hey you!" The rubber pirate rushed at the man with his arms outstretched.

"Hm?" Wapol raised an eyebrow.

"Hahaha! That idiot thinks he can fight his majesty!" The Bliking Pirates laughed, "He'll be eaten alive by the power of the Baku Baku no Mi!" True to the enemy crew, Wapol had chomped down on the rubber pirate, however, both of his outstretched arms were still outside the mouth of the tin-man.

"Luffy!?" The sniper cried.

"Hm? What's this long thing hanging out?" Wapol questioned, referring to the arms, "Hmm… a tough one to chew through, aren't you…"

"Why you…" Luffy muttered from inside the mouth of the tin-plate man, "get off of my ship!" Luffy then launched his open-palmed hands at the torso of Wapol, ejecting the straw hat-wearing pirate from the large mouth of Wapol and sending him flying.

"Your majesty?" The man who had previously been standing on top of the ship raised an eyebrow, "Your majesty! This is extremely bad! His majesty was flung into the ocean! Crap! And he can't swim either! If we don't go rescue him, he'll drown for sure!" The galleon quickly started sailing away at its peak speed before the jester-like man pointed towards the Going Merry, "And as for you scum! We'll have our revenge one day! Remember us! Don't forget it! Please remember us! Please!"

The Next Day

"You think if we used super glue the arm might reconnect?" Luffy asked as he and Vivi were changing the bandages that were wrapped around Naruto's forearm.

"Are you retarded!?" The princess promptly smacked the captain over his head.

"Where's my arm?" Naruto asked.

"It's in the freezer," Vivi answered, the first mate raised his eyebrow, "it's so that it doesn't rot."

"Okay." The blond-haired pirate nodded before he picked up his book on chakra, it'd been a while since he had read through the book, he'd been busy with the Little Garden affair, ' _These two energies, physical and spiritual, becoming more powerful will in turn make the created chakra more powerful. Therefore, practising a technique repeatedly will build up experience, increasing one's spiritual energy, and thus allowing more chakra to be created. As a result, the individual is able to do that same technique with more power. This same cycle applies for physical energy, except the individual needs to increase their endurance instead. At any given time, someone will have a 'maximum' amount of chakra that they can form and use before it runs out and they need to replenish it. With practice this maximum can be increased, but to a certain extent they are limited to the quantity and strength of chakra that their genetics grants them.'_ Meanwhile, Usopp and Carue, acting as the craftsmen for the ship, were helping patch up the Going Merry from the damage caused by Wapol while Sanji was in the Crow's Nest looking out upon the ocean.

"I still want to know what the hell all that was about…" Usopp mumbled.

"Hm?" Sanji raised an eyebrow.

"You know, those guys from yesterday. I mean I've never even heard of a pirate called Wapol," Usopp exclaimed, "but he had a ship that no mere no-name pirate could get!"

"Whatever don't pay any mind to him anymore," Sanji told the sniper, "just a bunch of idiots. Nothing more, nothing less. More importantly… don't you think it's been pretty cold every day for awhile now?"

"Yeah I guess now that you mention it," The long-nosed pirate nodded, "it's probably just another bizarre aspect to the Grand Line."

"No, it's proof that we're close to an island," Vivi stated as he walked out of the kitchen, "Sanji, watch carefully for land on the horizon."

"Vivi?" The cook raised an eyebrow.

"There must be a 'Winter Island' nearby." The princess told the duo.

"Winter Island?" Usopp questioned.

"In terms of climate, the islands of the Grand Line can be classified into four types. Summer Island, Spring Island, Autumn Island, and Winter Island. And each of these four islands generally have four seasons of their own," Vivi explained, "in short, in order to survive sailing across the Grand Line, you should be able to endure all types of seasons, from the summer of Summer Island all the way to the winter of Winter Island. Of course, there still are exceptions and unknown climates."

"I see… so the reason why the Grand Line has such unpredictable climates is due to being trapped between all these islands, each with their own distinct climate…" Usopp realised.

"Exactly," The blue-haired woman nodded, "that's why climate stabilisation signals the presence of an island nearby!"

"You're right… I can see land up ahead!" Sanji stated, "Land ahoy!"

"Land!?" Luffy exclaimed from the men's room where he was making sure Naruto was okay, "Naruto, did you hear that!? It's an island! Now we can get you all better!"

"Let's hope." The blond-haired pirate replied as he, holding his severed arm, and the captain walked up onto the deck. When they got up onto the deck, Luffy enthusiastically jumped onto his special seat and looked upon the island. It was covered in snow and featured a series of drum shaped mountains with a castle located at the summit of the largest mountain, at the very centre of the island.

"Whoa! It's an island! It's so white! It must be snow! A snow island!" The rubber man exclaimed in excitement.

"Luffy! Let me just say now that we can't afford to go on an adventure this time," Sanji informed the captain, "once we get a doctor to treat Naruto, we're leaving right away."

"Snow is so fun…" Luffy sighed.

"No good, he's already off in his own world…" The cook sweatdropped.

"Hold on a moment… is that island gonna be safe? If there's snow, couldn't there be snow monsters or something!?" Usopp cried, "There might not even be any humans living on it! Oh no! My can't-enter-island-itis is acting up again!"

"I like snow 'cause it's white." The rubber captain stated, enthralled by the snow.

"Get ready to dock, guys." Zoro told the crew as they approached the island. As they sailed closer to the island and past the forest of snow-capped evergreen trees, the mountains became so much bigger to them.

"Wow… just what are those mountains! So much snow… I'm so happy…" Luffy sighed with tears rolling down his cheeks from excitement.

"Aren't you cold wearing only that?" Usopp asked both the pirate captain and the first mate, referring to their lack of clothing they wore. Luffy was still wearing his singlet with rolled up jeans and Naruto continued wearing his baggy black pants and red-brown sandals with one fingerless opera-length black glove with a black shirt, while all the others were wearing thermal jumpers to protect them from the cold.

"It's negative ten degrees, cold enough for a bear to being hibernating." Vivi added.

"Huh? Ah…" Luffy suddenly started shaking and rubbing his shoulders, "Brr! It's so cold!"

"Could you be any slower!?" Usopp shouted as the captain ran to get a red jumper while Naruto stood still, "Aren't you gonna go get a jumper?"

"Don't need it," The first mate responded, "I'm not that cold."

"How are you not cold!?" Sanji exclaimed.

"That's just the way I am." Naruto shrugged. They crew continued sailing until they met a meltwater waterfall.

"A meltwater waterfall… we should be able to dock our ship around here." Vivi told the pirate crew.

"So? Who's going to go look for a doctor?" Zoro asked, "Actually… I guess we should start by seeing if there are even any people."

"I'll go!" Luffy raised his hand.

"Me too." Naruto told the swordsman.

"Yes, go forth, my comrades!" Usopp shouted, happy that he wasn't the one that had to go on the quest to find the doctor.

"Stop right there, pirates!" They heard the voice of a man on the top of one of the small cliffs of frozen waterfalls on both sides of the Going Merry. The man that spoke was an imposing man, with slicked black hair and a goatee. He wore a long, white fur-lined green tunic and has armour plates on his arms. He covered his head with a green and white fur lined hat, equipped with earflaps to battle against the intense cold and wore long boots. Surrounding him was a hoard of villagers, "You will turn around immediately and leave this island at once."

"Wait! We've come here for a doctor!" Luffy explained.

"For my arm." Naruto told them as he held up his dispatched arm.

"Those lies won't work on us, pirate scum!" The villagers cried.

"Lies? I'm holding my arm right here." The blond-haired pirate raised an eyebrow.

"This is our country and we won't let no stinking pirates run amok on it! Now pull your anchor back up and beat it!" The villagers ordered, "Or else we'll make you leave!"

"Whoo… talk about a bad first impression…" Sanji stated as he inhaled the smoke from his cigarette.

"Don't talk back at us!" The villagers cried as they opened fire on the pirates, citing panic from the pirates. There was hysteria among the crew as they tried to get under cover, that was until the citizens fell, unconscious, onto the snowy ground.

"W-What!?" The goatee-wearing man exclaimed, "W-what happened!?"

"Me." Naruto said confidently as he started walking over to the figurehead of the ship so he could jump onto the frozen waterfall.

"You didn't have to do that Naruto!" Luffy scolded the young pirate.

"I wouldn't normally do this but we're on a time limit," The blond pirate told the apparent leader of the village as he started approaching him, "now, before I kill you, tell me where a doctor is."

"How dare you!" The man promptly revealed his spade on his back and swung it at Naruto, only for him to sidestep the attack very easily. Naruto cocked back his fist, preparing himself for a punch, however, with quite impressive speed; Vivi tackled him to the ground.

"This isn't a problem you can solve by fighting!" Vivi shouted at the impatient first mate before turning to the spade-wielding man, "I beg of you! We promise not to set foot on your country… so could you please just call over a doctor!? Our friend is gravely injured and in much pain! Please help him!"

"He can't be that injured if he could fight," The man sneered before he turned his head back to Naruto, "I might've been more lenient to allow you to see the doctor if you had not attacked the innocent villagers." Naruto simply stayed silent, he knew that whatever he said from this point on was crucial to finding a doctor.

"Please… reckless fighting isn't always going to solve everything…" Vivi kneeled down and bowed her head; soon Luffy and the rest of the crew had joined her in the begging for a doctor. The village leader looked over his downed citizens with a frown and then sent a glare towards Naruto.

"I'll lead you to our town," He said reluctantly, to the glee of the crew, "follow me."

"See? He understood us." Vivi told the crew.

"Yeah, you're amazing." Luffy commented.

"You there!" The spade-wielding man pointed towards Naruto, "Bring this people back from their unconsciousness."

"Can't do that." The blond pirate stated without so much as batting an eyelid.

"Why!? You said you were the one that did this to them?" The village-leader responded.

"Doesn't mean I can bring them back. I don't know how," Naruto shrugged, "we'll just have to wait until they wake up."

"That won't do," The goatee-wearing man stated as he walked a bit further into the snow forest before he came back carrying five large sleds, big enough for roughly twenty people each, "put the villagers on these sleds, gently! And then drag them back to the village."

"Okay." Luffy nodded as he, Usopp, Sanji, Zoro and Naruto lifted the citizens and placed them gently onto each sled and started dragging them towards the village.

"Wait," The blond pirate halted the crew, "who's gonna stay and watch the ship?"

"I'll stay!" Usopp shouted out quickly as he jumped onto the ship with Carue. Zoro grunted as he started dragging the sled that the sniper had left behind before they continued on their journey to the village.

"Let me give you one warning before-hand…" The spade-wielding man began, "there is only one doctor in our country… and she happens to be a witch."

"Wha?" Sanji questioned, "A witch?"

"Yes, I'll explain it later." The man replied as he started walking off with the rest of the crew following him.

"What's your name?" Zoro asked.

"Dalton." The man, now known as Dalton, introduced.

"What's this island called?" VIvi asked.

"This country has no name as of yet." Dalton responded.

"A nameless country?" The princess raised an eyebrow, "Is that even possible?"

"Wow! It's a bear!" Luffy yelled in excitement as a grey bear with a hiking stick started approaching them.

"It's just a hiking bear," The spade-wielding man informed the crew, "it poses no danger but mind your hiking manners and don't forget to bow."

The Going Merry

"C-C-Carue… it's so cold…" Usopp shivered as he hugged the spot-billed duck in an attempt to share body heat.

"Q-quack!" Carue nodded in agreement.

"I-I should've p-probably gone with t-them…" Usopp shook his head, "b-but then again this is a good time for some t-training."

"Quack?" Carue questioned, even though he had only knew Usopp for a short while, he already knew that he wasn't the fighting type.

"I know, hard to believe," The sniper grinned, "but… since Little Garden when I fought Miss Valentine… when I was pinned on the ground, if it wasn't for Luffy pushing her off me I would've died," He walked over to the place where Zoro had been training and tried to pick up some of the smaller weights, only barely being able to do so, "I can't let that happen again! I need to become a better sniper and I also need to become stronger physically!"

"Quack!" Carue cheered for the long-nosed pirate.

The Snowing Town 'Bighorn'

"This is… our town." Dalton introduced the Straw Hat Pirates to the town. He houses had a cone-like roof in order to make sure that the snow that fell would be guided off onto the ground. The people walking around were wearing very heavy layers of clothing in an attempt to rescue them from the cold; they were also riding on many different strange animals to carry many different goods. The villagers gasped when they saw the pirates dragging many of the other townspeople in the sleds.

"They got some weird animals walking around." Luffy stated as he spotted a reindeer.

"Finally! A town full of people!" Sanji exclaimed, happy to have finally found an island that had people that weren't bounty hunters or uninhabited at all.

"Dalton!" One of the villagers rushed to the goatee-wearing man, "What happened!?"

"There's no need to worry," Dalton calmed the anxious villager, "everyone that's on guard-duty can now return to their normal jobs."

"You sure you can handle all of 'em yourself, Dalton? Aren't they pirates?" The townspeople asked.

"They should pose no harm. Well most of them at least…" The spade-wielding man sent a look towards Naruto, who was busy scanning his surroundings.

"This country doesn't have any professional soldiers, does it?" Vivi asked.

"No, they're all normal civilians," Dalton replied, "for the time being, come to my house."

"Dalton, I heard there were pirates. Is everything alright?" A large woman started approaching the goatee-wearing villager.

"Rest assured, everything is under control, madam." Dalton replied in a very calm attitude.

"Dalton! I'll be looking forward to the elections in two days," An elderly-looking man commented, "everyone says they'll be voting for you."

"T-that's preposterous!" Dalton responded, "I bear too many sins for such a position."

"Are you a politician or something?" Naruto asked.

"I guess that's what I've become," Dalton answered before he stopped in front a house that was just a bit larger than all the others, "welcome to my home," The crew entered the house, except for Zoro who was instructed to drag the townspeople to the town square, despite the fact that it was larger than the other houses, it was still quite small. With only a bed and a kitchen to satisfy Dalton's needs, "you can use the bed over there. I'll go heat up the room right now… my apologies for the belated introduction… my name is Dalton and it is my job to guard this island. Please forgive our hostile welcome," The guard then looked towards Vivi, "I'd like to ask you one thing…"

"Hm?" The blue-haired princess raised an eyebrow.

"I get the feeling that I've seen you before somewhere…" Dalton stated.

"Y-you must be imagining things. I'm sure we've never met before…" Vivi insisted, "more importantly, could you please tell us more about this witch?"

"Of course, but first, what's the injury?" The village leader asked.

"Got my arm chopped off." Naruto told him bluntly as he held up his severed arm.

"How'd you manage that?" Dalton asked.

"That doesn't matter," Naruto shook off the question, "but what does matter is where the so called 'witch' is."

"From the window you should be able to see the mountains," Dalton pointed out of the bedside window at the several huge mountains that towered over the island, "those mountains are called the Drum Rockies. Perhaps you can see a castle at the top of the tallest mountain in the middle? Presently… it's a castle with no king…"

"Castle?" Nami questioned.

"Yeah, I can see it alright…" Sanji muttered.

"Ah, nice and warm…" Zoro groaned as he entered the house from the town square, having dropped off all the villagers.

"So what about the castle?" Vivi asked.

"Dr. Kureha, the lone doctor in this entire country whom the people call a witch, lives in that very castle situated on the mountaintop." Dalton explained.

"What!?" Sanji cried, "Of all the places she could be, she just has to be there… well, we better go call her right away then! This is an emergency."

"As much as I'd like to, there is no way to contact her." The village guard stated.

"What!? And she calls herself a doctor!? What's with this woman!?" Sanji cried.

"Her skills as a doctor are undeniable, but she's a bit of a kook… and almost 140 years old at that, too." Dalton told the cook.

"140!? And she's still alive!?" Sanji yelled.

"Then what do the people of this country do when they're sick or injured!?" Vivi asked.

"Well, she comes down from the mountain whenever she feels like it," Dalton explained, "she finds patients to treat, and afterwards-"

"Look, I really don't care about her backstory or anything like that," Naruto interrupted impatiently, "she is in that castle. And that's all I need to know." The blond pirate then got up and walked outside, preparing himself for a trip up to the castle.

"Naruto, wait!" Vivi cried as she ran after the blond pirate. As she rushed outside she saw Naruto, having collapsed, panting on all fours on the snowy ground, "Naruto!"

"I can… definitely feel the fatigue…" Naruto panted, "but if I don't get my arm fixed today… I'll die…"

"N-Naruto! Quick come inside." Vivi tried to take the hand of the blond pirate before he shook her off.

"No… I need to go right now, if I don't I'll die." Naruto stated as he stumbled forward.

"How do you know that!?" Vivi shouted, attracting attention from the surrounding villagers.

"Just trust me…" The first mate stated as he continued staggering forward. He eventually lost his footing and started falling over before Luffy ran over and let him fall on his back.

"I'll carry you up!" Luffy announced as he started rushing off, kicking up snow.

"Hold up, Luffy!" Sanji shouted as he started chasing after the rubber pirate captain. Vivi stared off into the distance as the three figures of the men started becoming smaller before they completely disappeared from sight.

"Why…" Vivi sighed, afraid of what could happen to Naruto, she had never seen him in such a weak state before. The princess stood there for a few moments before she returned to the heated house where Dalton was still explaining the story of the witch to Zoro, who wasn't completely listening.

"According to certain witnesses, she supposedly rides down a sleigh on moonlit nights…" Dalton stated, "that is why the people call her a witch… others have reportedly seen a most bizarre creature travelling with her… although she's this country's only doctor, she's also someone who I'd prefer to have little to do with… in any case, I'm afraid the only thing you can do is wait until she comes down…"

"It's too late…" Vivi shook her head, "they've already ran off…"

"What!? If they've seriously started running up to the castle they must be fools!" Dalton cried, "They should've waited so I could tell them they should've climbed up from the other side… the route to the top from here is full of lapahns! They're extremely violent and carnivorous rabbits… if they come across a pack of them, there'll be no escaping alive!"

"Well, there's no need to worry about those three…" Nami stated.

"The problem is whether or not Naruto can hold out long enough..." Vivi told the others, concerned for the first mate that she had grown fond of, "I just hope they can all get to the top safe and sound…"

"Why's there only one doctor in this whole town?" Zoro asked.

"It used not to be like this long ago…" Dalton began the tale, "only a few months ago, this country was… utterly destroyed at the hands of pirates!"

"Wha!" Vivi shrieked.

"The entire country!?" Nami exclaimed.

"So that's why you were so hostile to us…" The swordsman realised.

"Yes… everyone is still uneasy at merely hearing the word, 'pirate'…" Dalton stated, "it was a pirate crew of only five people… their captain called himself, 'Blackbeard'… with overwhelming strength, they destroyed our entire country in the blink of an eye."

"Blackbeard…?" Zoro questioned.

"O-only five pirates!? That's crazy!" Nami cried.

"Be that as it may… there are some who say it was a good thing that our country was destroyed…" The goatee-wearing man told the crew, to their shock.

"What!? There's no way it'd be a good thing for one's country to be destroyed!" Vivi shouted.

"Yeah, that's ridiculous! How could that be!?" Nami yelled.

"That's because up until that point, the king and his tyrannical rule brought much suffering to the people," Dalton stated, "the name of this country was formerly 'Drum Kingdom' and the ruler of this kingdom was a man named 'Wapol'! He was truly a most despicable king…"

"That man…" Zoro muttered, remembering the ship-eating man they encountered earlier.

"Wapol!?" Nami shrieked.

"Now I remember!" Vivi announced.

"What!? Do you people know about Wapol!?" Dalton asked.

"He tried attacking our ship," Zoro muttered, "now that I think about it, he did say something about Drum Kingdom."

"Yes, I remember clearly now…" Vivi said to herself, "he's the same man I met back when I was a little girl and father took me to the Reverie."

"Reverie!?" Dalton exclaimed, "Who are you exactly?"

"Ah- umm... i-in any case!" Vivi stuttered, "We did meet Wapol! We came across him only yesterday while on our way."

"Are you telling the truth!?" The spade-wielding man questioned.

"What does this all mean?" Nami asked, "You said that the country was destroyed but then why is the king alive and well being a pirate out of all things!?"

"Him being a pirate is just a disguise," Dalton explained, "he's most likely been loitering around the oceans here waiting or the right time to come back."

"So then… Wapol and his men were driven out of this island and forced to be pirates after being unable to fight off the Blackbeard Pirates…" Vivi concluded.

"Unable to fight off!? No!" Dalton shouted, "Back when the pirates attacked this country, the king and his soldiers didn't even try to mount a resistance!"

"What?" Nami questioned.

"Once Wapol realised just how strong the pirates were he simply abandoned his own country," The goatee-wearing man stated, "by immediately taking off to the seas faster than anyone else! All the citizens were dismayed by such an act of cowardice committed by their own king…"

"And he calls himself a king!?" Vivi exploded with rage.

"Vivi…" Nami mumbled.

"It's beyond cruel… how could the king just abandon his people…" Vivi muttered.

"Exactly… but thanks to that, Wapol's reign of tyranny finally came to an end. This island now belongs to those of us who remained behind! The towns are slowly beginning to recover, and we're now in the midst of forging a new country. That is why the thing we dread the most is Wapol's return. At this time of great unrest and uneasiness we must prevent that at all costs!" Dalton explained, "For the purpose of creating a better country for a better tomorrow, we must-"

"Gyaa!" The screams of the villagers sounded throughout the town as they heard a loud explosion occur against the side of the middle mountain of the Drum Rockies.

"What happened!?" Zoro questioned. Smoke started rising into sky, shrouding the once snow-white trees in a black haze.

"Dalton! Quick! There's been an explosion!" The townspeople started rushing over to the site of the explosion, "We have to make sure no one was out there!"

"Naruto!" Vivi cried out in worry as Zoro ran as quickly as possible towards the middle mountain in an attempt to secure the safety of the other crewmates.

"Those fools!" Dalton chided as he ran after the townspeople, "If they run into lapahns then they're sure to die!" Vivi started running after them before Nami stopped her.

"What're you doing!?" The princess yelled at the orange-haired navigator, "Naruto and the others are in trouble!"

"Look, if we get caught by those lapahn things then we're history." Nami told the princess before she shook her hand off.

"Naruto's in trouble!" The blue-haired princess yelled as she ran off to join the townspeople, "I can't let anything happen to him!"

Oceans Around The Island

The smoke rose higher and higher towards the sky, so much so that it could also be used as a beacon. In the oceans surrounding the island, the Bliking Pirates had spotted this beacon of smoke.

"Ah! Your majesty!" The jester-looking pirate yelled out to Wapol from the crow's nest.

"What is it, Chess!?" Wapol asked, "Did you spot those pirates from yesterday!?"

"No but look, your majesty!" The man known as Chess pointed out to the island in front of them, "We've finally returned at last."

"What!?" Wapol gasped in shock.

"After many months of perseverance, we've reached our homeland, Drum Kingdom!" Chess announced to the excitement of the crew below him.

"Whoohoo!" The pirates cheered with glee and merry as they prepared there return to the kingdom.

Mountain Side of The Middle Mountain

Sanji and Luffy lied unconscious against the many burning trees surrounding them with blood pouring from their heads. To their left were many dead lapahns, whose once beautiful white fur had turned red with blood and to their right was a giant crater.

"Uh…" Luffy groaned as he slowly sat up and held his head in his hands, "fuck…"

"W-what… was that?" Sanji asked groggily, the cook looked around and noticed that they were missing a crewmate, "Where's Naruto?"

"Sanji," Luffy stood up and looked towards the castle at the top of the mountain with a mixture of anger and anxiety, "I need to find Naruto right now. If I don't, this entire island might not last another day."

"What!?" Sanji questioned, "What's going on!?"

"There's no time for that," The rubber pirate shook his head as he started running off in search of his first mate, "just make sure, don't let anyone else come up!"

"L-Luffy wait!" Sanji yelled after his captain, citing a sharp pain in his thigh. He gritted his teeth as he sat down gently in the snow, the pain being too much to bear, "What's going on with Naruto…"

"Gyaa!" The blood-curdling feminine scream shook the surrounding snow. Sanji looked around frantically, worried that it might've been Vivi or Nami. He eventually laid eyes upon a horrific sight of a larger than average white lapahn ripping into the torso of one of the female townspeople. Blood poured onto the snow, staining it red.

' _Shit!_ ' Sanji thought to himself. He knew that he couldn't run away or attempt to fight the beast for his thigh was in too much pain. He started crawling along the ground to hide behind one of the tree trunks.

"Grrah!" The lapahn roared before it ripped the woman in half and started devouring her dead corpse. Once the beast had finished its meal it dropped on all fours and started walking away.

"Thank god…" Sanji sighed in relief. Unfortunately, he didn't know of the lapahn's great hearing ability. The carnivorous snow rabbit jumped up and started scanning the area. It wasn't a foolish animal, it knew what it heard. The violent laphan prowled around its surroundings, checking every nook and cranny.

"Grr…" The beast growled gently, it's eyes darting around everywhere, determined to find the prey.

' _Stay still…'_ The cook thought as he did everything he could to remain motionless. The lapahn started to approach the tree trunk that was the only thing guarding Sanji from certain death. The snow-rabbit came within a hairs distance of it and the wooden trunk before it started sniffing.

"Grahh!" The beast roared as it swung its claws and cut down the trunk, in the process cutting Sanji's back.

"Ah!" Sanji cried as he fell forward, blood seeping from his back. He looked up from the snow to see the threatening figure of the killing snow-rabbit above him. The monster raised its arms before it slammed them against the downed cook, "Gya!" Sanji cried in pain as the beast lifted him off the ground and flung him into a nearby tree. The lapahan, with its claws protruding, cocked it's fist back before it flung them at Sanji. The blond cook braced for impact, only for nothing to reach him. He looked up to see Zoro standing in front of him, blocking the claws with his blades.

"So useless…" Zoro muttered as he looked down on the cook.

"Shut up…" Sanji sighed as he lay back in the snow.

"Grahh!" The lapahn jumped at the swordsman, only to be cut down within seconds with Zoro's devilish blades.

"Honestly, how could you nearly die from something like that?" Zoro asked as he sheathed his blades and inspected the dead snow-rabbit.

"Get fucked," The cook stated as he lit a cigarette, "I could've taken that thing down in seconds."

"Then why didn't you?" Zoro smirked. Before Sanji could retort, they saw Dalton, along with Nami and Vivi, burst from the snow-white trees on a sled led by two reindeers. Dalton immediately hopped off and ran towards the crater. He looked around the area, observing all the red blood on the white snow and the burning trees.

"What happened here!?" Dalton shouted angrily at the swordsman and the cook.

"I don't know." Sanji responded.

"What'd you mean you don't know!" Dalton yelled.

"Me, Luffy and Naruto were running up the mountain, then… I dunno what happened after that," The cook explained, "I woke up with that crater there and all the trees burning."

"Where's the straw-hat fellow?" The goatee-wearing man asked.

"He's still running up to the castle," Sanji replied, "he said it was urgent. He also told no one else to come up."

"Hm…" Dalton wondered as he looked around until he laid his eyes upon the dead lapahn in front of Zoro, "What!? Did you kill the lapahn?"

"Yeah." The swordsman shrugged.

"You fool!" Dalton shouted, "You've angered them! Now there's no hope…"

"What's wrong?" Nami asked.

"It'll be the same as last time!" The village leader exclaimed, "A couple years ago, an idiotic hunter went out to kill a lapahn. Miraculously, the man survived and brought back the lapahn. We all thought that nothing else would happen. But that night, at least fifty lapahns came into the village and slaughtered majority of the townspeople."

"If I hadn't of killed it then it would've killed us," Zoro stated, "better it than us."

"I know… it's just… because of this the village is in grave danger, this isn't something we need to be worried about, especially with the return of Wapol imminent…" Dalton stated. He continued scanning the area, before he laid eyes on a pendant that was lying in the snow, blood all over it. Sanji noticed this.

"The lapahn killed one of the villagers…" The cook started, "there was nothing we could do…"

"It's alright," Dalton swallowed, "I managed to secure the rest of the villagers and they're all down in the town right now… so they should be alright."

"What should we do from here?" Vivi asked nervously, she wanted to make sure that Naruto was okay, and from the sound of things, he wasn't.

"I'm going up to the castle, the rest of you are to remain in the village." Dalton ordered.

"Like we'll do that," Zoro told him, "we're coming up with you."

"Luffy told us not to let anyone up." Sanji reminded the crew.

"That straw-hat boy doesn't know what he's talking about," Dalton scolded, "I am going up there right now. I don't mind if you come up as well, swordsman. But the rest of you need to go back down to the village to make sure that nothing happens."

"I'm going up too." Vivi stated bravely. Dalton looked her up and down, questioning whether or not she would be a liability. Eventually he nodded and the three of them hopped into the sled and rushed up to the castle, leaving Nami and Sanji alone.

"Well, Nami…" Sanji started, "now that we're alone…"

"No." Nami stated immediately.

"Worth a shot," The cook shrugged, "I need you to help me up."

"Why can't you do it yourself?" The navigator questioned.'

"My thigh hurts like hell, I can barely walk." Sanji explained.

"Fine." Nami helped her crewmate up as they trudged back down to the town, cautious of any sort of carnivorous wildlife.

At The Dock

"Mahaha! Here at last!" Wapol laughed sinisterly as he, riding on a woolly hippo, and the rest of the Bliking Pirates stepped out onto the snowy lands, "My beloved Drum Kingdom!"

"Hmph… to think they'd put up watch guards in the short time I was gone…" Chess muttered as he held the head of one of the watchmen in his overly large hand.

"Opening fire on us? What fools…" One of the Bliking Pirates smirked. This pirate in particular sported a long, orange cloak, with white lining, and black afros at each end, and white afros hanging from the front. He was of average height. He wore gloves that covered all his fingers except his thumb, which resembled an afro. He had a large black afro, and three small ones on his beard. The shirt he wore was orange in the middle and white on the sides with light yellow buttons, along with orange shorts. He had hairy legs, and black boots with white laces. Overall, his appearance resembled that of a boxer.

"Ahh… those grand, majestic mountains towering over all else as always!" Wapol gleamed as he laid eyes upon the Drum Rockies, "Chess! Is my castle alright?"

"It appears to be in good shape, your majesty." Chess answered as he looked through the binoculars.

"Mahaha! Then let us be off! Back to the castle!" The tin-man ordered, "It's time to stop being a pirate and return to my life as a king! Onwards, Robson!" He commanded the woolly hippo he was riding on to move, however, the animal only growled, "What's the matter with you!? Are you still angry that I killed your brother? Stop grumbling! I'll give you a nice reward soon enough."

"Mofu!" The woolly hippo cheered in glee at the prospect of an award.

"Your majesty! I have an urgent report!" One of the pirates rushed over to the former king.

"What is it?" Wapol asked.

"It's those pirates from yesterday!" The lackey pointed over to where the Going Merry was docked, "Their ship is docked by the river!"

"What!?" Wapol shouted in anger, "Those Straw Hats dare tread foot upon my kingdom!? Those scum have quite the nerve, after what they did to me! Find and kill every last one of them at once!"

"Well, that's the thing… none of them are currently on their ship… we're not sure where they went off to." The pirate explained.

"What an incompetent bunch… looking at the footprints left behind in the snow, it seems they've headed for Big Horn, your majesty." Chess explained to the former king.

"Well done. Then we shall first head for Big Horn instead. Let us celebrate the rebirth of Drum Kingdom with their extermination!" Wapol exclaimed as the pirate crew marched into the snow forest. On the Going Merry, Usopp and Carue were looking cautiously over the railing.

"Whew…" Usopp sighed as he wiped sweat from his brow, "managed to avoid them, thank god… but I need to go tell the others."

Mountainside

Luffy trudged up the snowy mountain. Each step he took was painful but he knew that he had to do this; he had to make sure that he reached Naruto. While the rubber pirate trekked up the mountain he shook his head as he reminisced over the prior events that led him to the position he was in now.

Flashback

 _The trio of Sanji, Naruto and Luffy were running at a steady pace up the mountain up to the castle. Naruto held his dispatched arm in his hand tightly, making sure that it wouldn't drop at any point._

" _It's getting pretty cold with all this wind…" Luffy noted in an attempt to start a conversation._

" _Why the hell are wearing sandals in this weather?" Sanji asked, "Just looking at them is making me feel cold!"_

" _That's just my police!" The pirate captain stated._

" _It's called 'policy'." Sanji corrected._

" _Oh is it?" Luffy rasied his eyebrows, "In any case, did ya know that people in snowy countries don't sleep?"_

 _"And why is that?" The cook asked._

" _Because they'll die if they do." Luffy answered._

" _That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard." Sanji deadpanned._

" _It's true. That's what a guy once told me." The rubber pirate told the cook._

" _Who, Usopp?" The perverted pirate questioned._

" _Nope, from a guy in a bar." Luffy replied._

" _Then why was there a bed in that Dalton dude's home?" Sanij asked._

" _Ah- You're right! Then that must be when it's time for him to die…" Luffy reasoned._

" _That's even more ridiculous!" Sanji yelled, "Well, let me ask you this. Did you know that women of snowy countries all have beautiful smooth skin?"_

 _"Why's that?" The pirate captain asked._

" _Isn't that obvious?" Sanji smirked, "You know how when it's cold, your rub your skin together? Well that's why. Having smooth white skin is the trademark of women in snowy countries."_

 _"Why white?" Luffy questioned._

" _That's because the colour of the snow seeps inside their skin." The cook explained._

" _You're pretty stupid, y'know." Luffy told him._

" _You're the last person I want to hear that from!" Sanji shouted, "In any case-"_

 _"Argh!" Naruto dropped to the snowy ground in pain, clenching his stomach, ceasing their conversation._

" _Naruto!" Sanji exclaimed as he knelt next to him, "What's wrong?"_

" _Gya!" The young pirate cried as he spat blood._

" _What's wrong!?" Luffy asked._

" _F-fuck… I'm… gonna go…" Naruto held onto his chopped off arm tightly, Sanji tapped him on the shoulder to make sure everything was okay, what he got in return was the complete opposite of what he was expecting. Naruto turned to stare directly into the eyes of the cook with his own; blood red and slit like a fox. His features had become more rugged and feral and his nails had lengthen and sharpen to become like claws, "_ _ **to the castle…**_ _"_

 _"Sanji! Get out of the way!" Luffy ordered the cook, before he could do anything, Naruto burst off, leaving a trail of fire and destruction in his wake along with a giant crater at his starting point._

" _Ah!" Luffy and Sanji cried in unison, as they were both launched backwards against the hard bark of trees, knocking them both out unconscious._

Present

"Naruto…" Luffy sighed as he looked up at the castle, hoping that his first mate hadn't done anything terrible.

Big Horn

The townspeople knelt on their knees on the side of the road as Wapol and the Bliking Pirates strode through, with Wapol eating as many houses as he could fit in his fat mouth.

"Delicious!" The former king exclaimed atop his woolly hippo, "Listen well, my citizens! Everything that exists in this country is but food for me! Kuromarimo! Tell the people why I'm so great!"

"The fact that you are king proves your greatness, your majesty." The boxer-looking man, now identified as Kuromarimo, stated.

"Ahh… nothing like a nice roasted house cooked well-done on a cold snowy day!" Wapol rejoiced in his return to the Winter Island.

"Now then… according to the reports, it seems the Straw Hat Pirates are headed for Drum Castle." Kuromarimo informed the tin-man.

"What!? And why is that!?" Wapol questioned.

"It seems they're looking for that witch, Dr. Kureha," The boxer-looking man explained, "apparently, she's made the castle her new home during your majesty's absence."

"What!? That hag is living my castle!?" Wapol screamed in outrage, "How long does that traitorous hag intend to make a fool out of me! I'll devour that hag along with those pirates! My subjects! Prepare to leave for the castle at once!"

"That's as far as you'll go!" A voice sounded throughout the village. The enemy pirates turned to see Sanji standing bravely with his arm over Nami, who was helping him up.

"Who's that!?" Kuromarimo gritted his teeth in anger.

"Ah…" The villagers gasped.

"You're one of those pirates from yesterday!" Chess shouted as he pulled out his bow and drew an arrow from his quiver, "How dare you talk back to his majesty!"

"I'm curious," Sanji started, "why, Wapol, is there only one single doctor on this entire island?"

"Wapol? That's 'your majesty' to you," The tin-man grinned, "and as for the lack of doctors, that's just this kingdom's law."

"How dare you call such an absurdity a law!?" Nami shouted in anger.

"How can an outsider such as yourself comment on this island's laws?" Wapol smirked.

"I've gathered enough information from the public to have an understanding of what's really going on here," The orange-haired navigator stated, "with the only doctors in this country locked up in your castle, the people have no choice but to beg to you whenever they become sick. No law should turn a county's citizens into its hostages. Such things are called crimes!"

"Said everything you wanted to?" Wapol asked as he pointed a gun towards the duo, "Then it's time for you to die! Kill these two immediately!"

"I'd stop right there if I were you!" On top of the tallest building in the village, the local church, stood Usopp, with his arms crossed and his sniper goggles on.

"Another one!?" Kuromarimo exclaimed.

"Who're you!?" Wapol questioned.

"I am the Great Pirate Captain Usopp!" The long-nosed pirate announced, "I've got a fleet of eight million pirates docked on this island, if you don't stop I will unleash this impregnable force upon you!"

"E-eight million!?" Wapol gasped, "W-what strength!"

"He's lying, your majesty!" Kuromarimo told the tin-man, "Eight million is an absurd number of pirates!"

"Are you sure you wanna take that risk?" Usopp smirked.

"Shall I kill him, your majesty?" Chess asked the former king as he aimed three arrows at the sniper.

"Haha, of course!" Wapol ordered as the jester-looking man fired the three arrows directly at Usopp, only for the long-nosed pirate to duck in the nick of time.

"Dammit." Chess muttered as he aimed his arrows once more, only to sense a shaking of the ground.

"What's that shaking? An earthquake?" Wapol suggested.

Mountainside

"We've come to a stop because the snow's too thick…" Dalton stated to the princess and the swordsman as they got off the sled that they had been journeying on up the mountain.

"Huh? What's this trembling?" Vivi asked.

"Hmm…" Zoro thought to himself, before he had the sudden realisation of what the shaking was, "everyone run!"

"Run? Run where?" Vivi asked. Dalton raised his eyebrow at the former pirate hunter, before he too understood what was going on.

"Any where's fine! Just as long as it's far away from here!" Zoro shouted.

"What, why!?" Vivi questioned.

"Because there's an avalanche headed right for us!" Datlon announced, "We need to get to higher ground immediately!"

"There! Can you see that cliff!?" Zoro pointed out to a cliff further away from them, "Let's run there, as long as we stay there, we should be okay!" The trio started running as fast as their bodies would allow them with the snow holding them back.

"Ahh! It's coming!" Vivi cried in fear. Luckily, they were able to reach the cliff in time for them not to be crushed under the weight of the avalanche, "Okay, we're safe." They stared up as the avalanche continued to come down, it was at this point that they realised that even with the elevated height of being on the cliff, they still weren't high enough.

"Shit!" Zoro cursed, knowing that there wasn't anywhere else to run. The swordsman frantically looked all over the place in hope of an escape, however, he saw something that was much more unusual. He looked upon Dalton, who was now on all fours with furry black hair growing. He eventually turned into a bison-like creature.

"Get on now!" The goatee-wearing man ordered in a rough voice. The princess and the swordsman obeyed and hopped on the spade-wielding man, who Vivi had noticed had now, instead of feet, had hooves. Dalton then burst from the cliff onto the incoming avalanche.

"Ahh!" Vivi cried. There was a bit of turbulence as they landed on the rushing snow, but when Dalton had gotten into the rhythm of the motions, they were able to ride the avalanche upwards.

"So you're an Akuma no Mi user as well, huh…" Zoro noted as the bison-man rushed up the mountainside. Despite the fact that there was a destructive avalanche beneath them, they enjoyed the somewhat tranquillity and calmness of the adventure.

"Grahh!" The tranquillity was quickly broken as a hoard of laphans erupted from the snow around them. The carnivorous snow rabbits looked upon the trio with a mix of anger and hunger. Still enraged by the death of one of their brethren, they rushed the crew with murderous intent. Quickly, Zoro unsheathed his blade and managed to block a devastating swipe of a claw before he had to do the same with another lapahn.

"Get away!" Zoro shouted as he slashed at one of their snow-white bellies.

"Gya!" The lapahn in particular shrieked loudly, alerting the others that it had been injured. This delayed them for a bit, before they turned on them with even more fury than before.

"Pretty resilient aren't ya?" Zoro grinned as he tied his bandanna around his head, "I know that killing these pests will mean they'll be more that we have to deal with later, but I'm gonna have to do it."

"Zoro?" Vivi raised an eyebrow as the swordsman stood atop the rushing Dalton, which required amazing balance and strength, and then crossed his two swords across his chest and placed his blade in his mouth horizontally behind them.

" **Oni…** " Zoro began.

"Grahhh!" The lapahns roared as the approached the trio, fangs and claws out.

" **Giri!** " The green-haired swordsman leapt off Dalton and swung his swords across his chest, resulting in a descending diagonal-crossing slash from both swords while the mouth blade performed a horizontal cut which he inflicted upon all lapahns, causing them to drop dead in the snow.

"Zoro!" Vivi rejoiced as she saw the lapahns drop. However, Zoro had a grim look on his face. The princess wondered why, until she saw the swordsman land on the rushing avalanche, causing him to get pulled in under the snow, "Zoro!"

"We can't go back now!" Dalton told the princess, "All we can do now is go forward."

Big Horn

"It's coming and it's getting stronger!" The villagers cried in fear as they saw the avalanche approaching them ominously.

"I can't believe this!"

"Our village will be covered with snow!"

"Let's get out of here!" Wapol shouted as he hopped on the woolly hippo, "Chess, Kuromarimo hop on! Robson let's go!"

"Hoom!" Robson exclaimed as it revealed its long legs to run that he usually keeps hidden due to its laziness.

"Lord Wapol! Please take us with you!" Some of the Bliking Pirates begged the former king.

"Shut up!" The tin-man yelled, "Why don't you find the way by yourself!? Hurry up, Robson! It's getting closer!" Behind the local church, Usopp and Nami were supporting Sanji with his injured leg as they attempted to get away.

"Shit!" Usopp cursed, "How'd you even injure yourself?"

"Long story, just keep going." The cook answered as he was doing everything he could to hurry, which was limited.

"C'mon!" Nami shouted as they trudged along in an attempt to get as far away as they could.

"Quack!" They turned to see the sight of Carue rushing at full speed towards them.

"Ah!" The navigator sighed a sigh of relief as she saw the spot-billed duck come towards them, "Now we can go," The response to this was the shaking head of the land-running duck, "huh?"

"Look at how small his back is, he can't carry more than one person," Usopp explained, "and given our current situation, that person should be Sanji."

"No, Nami should go," The cook argued, "I'll be fine."

"Don't be stupid, just get on." Nami told the blond pirate. Reluctantly, Sanji saddled on Carue and held on as the spot-billed duck rushed away, out of danger, back to the safety of the Going Merry. Nami and Usopp however, still had to figure out a way of escaping the avalanche that was coming ever closer.

"Get in one of the houses!" The navigator commanded as she rushed towards one of the villager's home.

"What!?" Usopp exclaimed, "We need to try and get away!"

"Idiot! We won't be able to outrun that!" Nami yelled back at the sniper, "The best chance we have of surviving is to stay in here and hope for the best!"

"Do you know how many people have died because they 'hoped for the best'!?" Usopp argued.

"Whatever, I'll go in here and you stay out there." Nami told the long-nosed pirate as she ran inside.

"F-fine!" Usopp shook his head and followed the navigator into the house and grabbed hold of the walls, "Brace yourself!" There was a moment of silence between the two as they both braced for impact. This silence was interrupted as the destructive power of the avalanche hit them and knocked the house over, shattering the windows, allowing snow to trickle into the house.

"Gya!" Usopp cried as he hit his head against the floor as the impact threw him around. The last sight he saw before he fell unconscious was the sight of Nami attempted to reach him before some rubble fell and hit her on the head.

On the outside, the avalanche had calmed down, with many houses being covered in snow. There was no life that could be spotted throughout the town, that was, before a giant mouth opened its lips and crunched down on the snow.

"Yuck!" The owner of the giant mouth, Wapol, spat out the snow that he had eaten, along with Chess and Kuromarimo, "You taste horrible!"

"Ah!" The two cried as they landed.

"It must be those brats!" Wapol shouted.

"I see!" Chess nodded in agreement.

"You told me that they were heading to the castle, right? It must have been them who created the avalanche to bury us!" Wapol concluded, "So, this is their evil plan, after all. Is it true that one of the pulleys that was connected to the castle disappeared?"

"That's what the villagers told us, your majesty." Kuromarimo answered.

"Well then, let's go to the castle then, I will teach them a lesson about fighting in the winter country!" Wapol announced.

Mountainside

"Doctor… doctor… doctor…doctor…doctor…." Luffy repeatedly chanted as he slowly trudged up the mountain, snow covering his straw hat, "I'm close… don't do anything terrible Naruto…" The rubber pirate eventually reached a steep cliff incline, where he could no longer walk properly up. He jumped onto the cliff up to the top of the mountain and started climbing vertically.

Luffy continued on this pathway of pain to reach his first mate for three hours, without stopping, his fingers bleeding.

"Doctor… doctor… doctor… doctor…" The pirate captain continued on his trek upwards despite his entire body screaming at him to stop, "I won't give up! I will reach the top soon. Ah! Ah! Ah!" Luffy screamed in relief as he saw the very top of the mountain that he had been trekking up for hours on end. With all his remaining strength, he pulled himself up onto the summit of the mountain, and what lay before him was a truly beautiful sight. In front of him stood the Drum Castle that had been the figure of much trouble and at the same time much hope ever since the Straw Hat's arrival in this Winter Island. It's colour was a stunning crystal white with snow on the roofs with the sun gazing down on it, giving it a sparkling glow, "Finally, I'm here… so Naruto didn't do anything… huh…" That was all Luffy could say before he collapsed from exhaustion in the snow.

Two Hours Later

The giant castle, formerly inhabited by the royal family of Wapol and their servants, now being owned by Doctor Kureha, was an imposing figure, overseeing the land below. In one of the many rooms of the castle, Luffy laid on the soft beds with his straw hat sitting on the bedside table. Looking over him was an elderly woman who was dressed in a style suited to a woman one-seventh her age. This included a navel ring, a shirt that bares her midriff, a purple blazer and purple low riding pants. She wore a pair of small sunglasses that she wore on her forehead. She sported bracelets and rings on her left hand.

"It's been two hours, wake up." This woman proceeded to whack the rubber pirate over his head, waking him from his unconscious state.

"Huh?" Luffy rose in a dazed state, "Where am I?"

"That's the first thing you say? How rude," The woman hit him yet again over the head, "you should be thanking me."

"What'd you do?" Luffy asked.

"What'd I do? I just saved your life young man, the first thing you should be doing is thanking me!" The supposed doctor stated, to which Luffy nodded his head profusely.

"Yes, yes, thank you," The rubber pirate, immediately after saying this, attempted to burst out of bed, but was stopped as he noticed that he was buckled into the bed, "Naruto! Where is he!?"

"Naruto's his name, huh… more you know." The woman said to herself as she looked over some monotonous medical files.

"Where is he!? Tell me right now!" Luffy demanded, losing all need for politeness.

"He must be your friend then…" The woman stated grimly.

"What's wrong!? Is he okay!?" The pirate captain questioned.

"You shouldn't be asking about him, you should be asking about me and my assistant!" The woman yelled as she lifted her right sleeve, revealing several deep cuts that had recently been stitched up, "He came in here, ripping up everything in his path, crushing medical equipment, which is extremely expensive by the way, and then demanded we treat him because his arm had been chopped in half! Right now he's been properly sedated but he won't ever be able to use that arm again." The doctor stated bluntly.

"What'd you mean!?" Luffy asked.

"Just because I stuck his forearm back to his arm, the nerves won't be able to reconnect, his left arm from now on is just for display," The doctor informed the pirate captain, "by the way, my name is Kureha," Luffy looked down, absolutely devastated that his first mate had to deal with something so absolutely atrocious and terrible, caused by a cowardly and spineless man, "would you like to see him?"

"Yes!" The rubber pirate nodded his head several times.

"Well too bad." Kureha turned her back and started walking away.

"W-what?" Luffy raised an eyebrow.

"You can see him later, once you've paid me for your treatment." Kureha explained as she exited the room.

"What'd you mean paid you!?" The pirate captain shouted, "Goddam, she's just like Nami!" As the doctor walked outside she leaned against the wall.

"Doctor Kureha!" Kureha turned to see her assistant rushing through the hallways to meet her. Her assistant was a toddler-sized human/reindeer hybrid-looking creature. His left antler was braced at the base by a metal plate and wore a large pale red fuzzy top hat with a sideways medical cross and a maroon pair of shorts.

"What is it, Chopper?" Kureha asked, impatient.

"I-I think it's time we check on the other patient…" The reindeer, now known as Chopper, suggested.

"I guess you're right… let's go." The doctor sighed as she and her assistant reluctantly left the comfort of the wall and started walking down the seemingly endless flights of stairs until they reached the bottom, where in front of them stood a large prison cell, with steel bars that were several inches thick. Inside the prison cell was a figure that looked beaten and bloody, who was stripped down to his underwear. There were chains around the figure's two wrists that were pulling him upwards while he sat. This bloody figure was Naruto.

"You can let me out of here, y'know." Naruto told the duo, to which he received only a glare.

"I'm only going to let you out once you've fully recovered, and that I know you aren't going to cause a ruckus." Kureha told the young pirate.

"I'm not a troublemaker, you can trust me." Naruto grinned cunningly.

"Ha, don't even start. You're lucky that we even decided to treat you." The doctor sneered.

"You didn't decide to treat me, you were forced to treat me." Naruto stated, angering both the doctor and the assistant.

"Hey!" Chopper yelled as he started approaching the prison cell, "Let's get this straight, w-"

"What're you going to say? That you've got complete control over me right now? Or that you could kill me right now and that I'm lucky to be alive?" The incarcerated Naruto suggested, "Because if the latter is true, can you please do it? I've been trying to myself for the past couple of years. It'd be great if someone could finally do it."

"We're done here," Kureha stated as she turned her back to the young pirate, "let's go back up Chopper."

"W-what? Didn't we have to check up on him?" Chopper asked.

"No, he seems fine." Kureha spat before she began walking back up to the stairs leading up to the rooms for the patients with Chopper hurriedly rushing after her.

"Heh…" Naruto smirked as he looked over his left arm. The old doctor had stitched him up well, "thank you…" 

Outside the Castle

The tired and beaten figures of Vivi and Dalton stood before the foreboding castle that seemed to look over everything on the island.

"Here we are, Drum Castle." Dalton introduced the blue-haired princess to the castle as he started approaching said castle.

"It's beautiful…" Vivi stated in awe as she followed the goatee-wearing man. Once they reached the large double doors of the giant castle, Dalton smacked them with as much force as he could muster

"Kureha! Please open up!" Dalton pleaded. There was a moment of silence before the doors creaked open, allowing the two of them to walk in. The second they entered, they were met with the yet another cold breeze, which surprised the two as they were inside and thought they would instead be met with a waft of pleasant heat.

"What'd you need, Dalton?" From a landing above the duo, Kureha stood with her arms crossed.

"We're looking for a young man that we believe is to be here." Dalton explained.

"Luffy and Naruto." Vivi named.

"Oh, those two." Kureha shook her head several times.

"They're here?" The princess questioned.

"They are most certainly here," The doctor informed them, "but I doubt you'd like to see that Naruto boy right now."

"What? Why not?" Vivi asked, only for her to be stopped by Dalton.

"It's alright Vivi, we can ask about that later," The spade-wielding man told her before turning to Kureha once more, "may we please see Luffy?"

"Alright, follow me," The elderly doctor gestured for them to come up to the landing, which they did, and started to guide them to where the straw hat-wearing pirate captain was resting. When they reached the room and opened the door, they saw Luffy chasing Chopper around the room, "how'd he manage to get out of the shackles?"

"Hey! Reindeer, why don't you give up and let me eat you!?" Luffy yelled.

"Ahh!" Chopper screamed as he jumped over the bed in an attempt to evade the rubber pirate.

"Stop it, you little brat!" Kureha ordered as she tried to grab Luffy.

"I'm gonna get Sanji to cook some reindeer soup!" The pirate captain proclaimed. While the three of them were engaged in the chase, Vivi started talking to Dalton about their current situation.

"Do you think it's weird, Datlon?" Vivi asked, "There is so much snow inside this castle."

"Yeah, now that you mention it." Dalton nodded.

"Look. The snow has covered everything in this castle," Vivi pointed out the main colonnade that went through the entire establishment, giving it a solid foundation, "all the doors are frozen."

"Die, you little brat!" Kureha shouted as she started throwing kitchen knives at Luffy.

"Ahh!" He screamed as he ducked and dodged the oncoming projectiles. In the middle of the scuffle, Chopper managed to duck in between Dalton and Vivi and run as fast as his little legs could, away from the room.

"Where's he going?" Vivi raised an eyebrow. The reindeer continued running, without looking up, until he was definitely sure that he was far enough away from the dangerous being that was Luffy.

"Oh, you're back, that was quick." Unfortunately for the little doctor's assistant, he had ran straight into the path of the other dangerous being that they had locked up, Naruto. He hadn't moved from his position, still sitting, chained up.

"Ah…" Chopper sweatdropped, having no idea whether to stay or run.

"Are you really a doctor? Or are you just here to watch?" Naruto taunted.

"Yes, really!" Chopper shouted back, offended.

"Really?" The young pirate questioned.

"Yes! Are you really pirates?" The doctor's assistant asked back.

"Yeah." Naruto nodded.

"Really?" Chopper smirked.

"Really." The blond-haired pirate grinned.

"Do you have a Jolly Roger?" Chopper questioned.

"Yeah, it's on our ship," Naruto answered back, "do you want to be a pirate?"

"Don't be stupid!" The reindeer shouted, "Who told you that!?"

"No one, I just thought you might like to be one, anyway, do you want to come with us?" Naruto asked much to the shock of Chopper.

"What!?" The doctor's assistant yelled.

"I know that, since I'm not the captain, it's not my place to invite people to join the crew, but I'd think he'd let you join," Naruto stated, "but then again, that's only if you're interested, that would be a whole lot better for everyone. If we have a doctor on board, we wouldn't have to worry whenever someone gets slightly sick."

"Don't be ridiculous! I'm a reindeer. How could I live with humans!?" Chopper burst out, "Aren't you scared of me? I am a reindeer, but I can talk and I can stand on two legs."

"Hahaha!" Naruto burst out in laughter, "You want me to be scared of you?"

"My nose is blue, too…" Chopper added, confused in two ways. One, how this human could shake off the idea of a walking, talking reindeer and two, how his personality had changed from malicious intent to asking if they wanted to be crewmates.

"Trust me, I've seen things a lot scarier than you," The first mate stated, "and compared to them, you look like your regular bloke."

"R-really?" Chopper questioned, hope filling his heart.

"I have another question," Naruto began, "why is it so cold? Why don't you just turn on the heating system?"

"W-Well…" The reindeer began.

"Meh, don't worry I already know," Naruto shrugged, surprising the doctor's assistant, "it's that bird, I heard it a while ago. I'm assuming that the specific species of bird that you're taking care of needs to live in the cold to survive."

Before Chopper could respond, they saw Luffy jump down from one of the landings to fall, head first into the snowy floor behind them, before the rubber man got up, fine.

"Ah! Reindeer! I've got you now!" Luffy announced as he started chasing Chopper once more, completely missing Naruto.

"Ahh! Get away!" The doctor's assistant cried as the chase was back on.

"You brat!" Kureha's voice echoed throughout that castle before she came face-to-face with Naruto once more, "I can't believe those kids."

"Can you let me out now?" Naruto asked, only for him to receive a glare from the elderly woman.

"You know, judging by looks, you don't seem very harmful, but you know what they say, never judge a book by its cover." Kureha noted.

"Okay." The first mate nodded, not caring at all for any idioms that the doctor spat at him.

"While I wasn't here, you must've told my reindeer something stupid without my permission, right?" Kureha stated.

"Do I need your permission to talk to someone?" Naruto asked.

"Haha! No. Just take him with you," Kureha laughed, knowing of her assistants dream of sailing the seas as a pirate, "but it's not gonna be that easy, because he has a wound inside his heart that even a doctor can't heal."

"I really don't care at all for whatever sob story you're gonna spout out about him." Naruto interrupted the doctor.

"Hmph, rude." Kureha shook her head.

"Honest." The blond-haired pirate corrected, only for the woman to glare knives into Naruto's skull.

"When he was born, he was rejected by his own parents. Because of his blue nose, he was left to walk alone at the back of his tribe since he was young," Kureha began despite Naruto's request for her to not, "until one day, he accidently ate the Hito Hito no Mi. So, everyone treated him as an outcast and chased him away. He's no longer a regular reindeer, however, he still needs friends. So, he changed into a human. However, his human form is not perfect. Why? It's because of his blue nose. And he didn't know whom he should blame. He just needs a friend, but people call him an evil villain. He's neither reindeer nor human. That's why he's always alone. However, there was a man. The only man that he ever talked to."

"Ahh!" The screams of Chopper being chased sounded throughout the castle.

"His name was Dr. Hiluluk, he used to live in this empire. He was just a quack doctor who gave Chopper his name and called him his son." A smile graced Kureha's face as she recollected the times of old.

"Doctor! It's an emergency!" Chopper shouted as he slid right next to the old woman in a form that looked more reindeer than human, "Wapol is back!"

"Is that so?" Kureha closed her eyes.

Big Horn

"Uhh…" Usopp groaned as he slowly stood up, grasping his surroundings. He had remained in the house that he and Nami took refuge in; luckily it was able to withstand most of the force of the avalanche. Unfortunately, snow had trickled in through one of the shattered windows while the house itself had been knocked over. The snow had reached about knee height on him. The long-nosed pirate looked around before he realised that Nami was nowhere to be spotted, "Nami!" The sniper started digging up some of the snow as he thought that she might've gotten stuck underneath some, "Nami! Nami! Nami!"

"What is it?" Outside the house, Usopp could see Nami peeking through one of the windows, "Oh, you're awake now."

"Why're you saying that in such a calm manner! I thought you were dead!" Usopp shouted.

"Well, you thought wrong," Nami shrugged, "now get out of there."

"H-how?" The long-nosed pirate asked.

"You're a big boy, I'm sure you can figure a way out." The orange-haired navigator grinned before she walked off.

"Goddamn it…" Usopp shook his head before he looked around in an attempt to figure out how he could escape. He thought about the idea of going through one of the shattered windows, but then dismissed that idea as he realised that he was too big to get through them, also the glass shards would cut him, "Wait," He said to himself, "what have you been training for Usopp? I can get through that window, doesn't matter if I get cut a bit," The sniper flexed his biceps as he approached the window. To make sure that he could get through, he made sure he crushed the remaining pieces of glass that remained in the window frame, causing his hands to bleed, "Ah." He winced slightly before he lifted himself up through the frame to reveal himself to the outside world.

"Good job." Nami waved over to Usopp.

"Yeah, but what are we gonna do now?" The sniper asked as she approached the navigator.

"Well, we can't get up to the castle right now." Nami stated.

"Why not?" Usopp questioned.

"I've been talking to some of the townspeople and they've been saying that after an avalanche hits it's impossible to traverse the mountain range," Nami explained, "that's because of all the lapahns that are hiding in the snow for prey."

"Oh… so what're we gonna do?" Usopp asked.

"We should help the villagers trying to repair anything that was broken." Nami stated.

"Okay," The sniper nodded, "I've never heard you say something so… charitable."

"Oh don't worry we'll charge them after! I have to get my money!" The navigator grinned as she skipped off.

"Of course…" Usopp sweatdropped at the thought.

"Also… when I was on the mountain, Zoro killed one of the lapahns, when Dalton saw he freaked out and said that the last time someone had killed a laphan they demolished the village that night," Nami explained, "so we need to be on the look out for any lapahns coming down from the mountain."

"A-Ah…" Usopp gasped in fear.

Outside the Castle

"Look! Nothing has changed!" Wapol announced as he, Chess and Kuromarimo stepped off Robson and looked upon the snowy castle, "Finally, I will reclaim my throne!"

"Wait a minute, Lord Wapol," Chess stated as he pointed out to the flag that was flying at the top of the castle, "there is a weird flag at the top of the castle."

"Huh?" On closer inspection, Wapol realised that it was in fact a pirate's Jolly Roger that had replaced the previous flag, "What is that Jolly Roger doing there? Where is Drum Empire's flag!?"

"Hahaha!" From within the secluded doors of the castle, stepped out Kureha, with Chopper beside her, followed by Vivi and Dalton, "I've already burnt that flag."

"Finally, you show up, the last doctor on this empire, Dr. Kureha. Why don't you just die?" Wapol greeted the woman, "Oh, and Dalton, can you kill yourself please?" Dalton simply glared at the tin-man, his anger too great to be expressed.

"This castle is Hiluluk's tomb! It's not a place for rotten kids like you," Kureha explained, "just get out of this place! Drum Empire has already been destroyed!"

"Tomb? That stupid doctor's tomb!? Hahahaha!" The tin-man laughed sinisterly, "That's not funny at all!" At the mocking of the man who called him his son, Chopper felt a surge of rage pour through him.

"It's him!" They all turned to see Luffy rushing through the doors of the castle, "You got me bad last time!"

"Luffy?" Vivi questioned.

"Eh?" Wapol rasied an eyebrow as the rubber pirate cocked back his fist.

"Lord Wapol, it's that kid!" Kuromarimo announced.

" **Gomu Gomu no…** " The rubber captain stepped within a hairs length of the former king before he unleashed a devastating blow to Wapol's face which cultivated all of Luffy's strength, " **Bullet!** "

"Ah!" Chopper gasped. The attack on Wapol meant so much more to him than just a punch. It represented the fighting against the king, the struggle that the citizens of this empire have had to deal with for so many years.

"Augh!" Wapol cried as he was sent flying over the edge of the mountain summit. He would've fallen off completely if it had not been for Chess and Kuromarimo catching him at the last moments.

"Lord Wapol!" His underlings cried.

"What's going on here?" Kureha raised both eyebrows in astonishment.

"Ugh… that was close…" Wapol groaned as he was lifted back onto the mountain.

"You treated me badly last time we met," Luffy grinned, "Hehe... this time I won't let you get away with it."

"How dare you hurt Lord Wapol, the king of the Drum Empire!?" Kuromarimo exclaimed.

"That's right! Don't you realize that Lord Wapol is the king who governs this country!?" Chess added, "How dare you fight against the king!?"

"A king? So what?" Luffy pulled annoying faces at the trio in order to vent his frustrations, "I just know that I hate all of you very much."

"You know them, too?" Kureha asked.

"Of course! They are just annoying pirates who tried to stop us. He even ate my ship! I won't let them get away easily this time," The rubber pirate explained, "eh? Did they just say that he's a king? They're not pirates?"

"You just realized that!?" Kureha and Dalton sweatdropped.

"You fools! You just realized that our majesty is the king of this empire?" Kuromarimo taunted, "That is an insult to our majesty's name!"

"Aahh!" Wapol yelled as he leapt upwards, a pretty big feat considering his size.

"Lord Wapol!" The underlings cried.

"Hahaha… you really made me mad…" Wapol told the straw hat-wearing pirate, "I will eat you this time."

"Chopper," Kureha tapped the reindeer on the head, "go release the kid in the cell, here's the key." Chopper nodded and took the key from the doctor's outstretched hand and rushed inside.

"Dalton, those brats and that witch, all the people who oppose me are all right here," Wapol stated, "if we take care of them all right now there will be no one left to stop us."

"That's right, Lord Wapol. We can rebuild our Drum Kingdom again," The jester-looking man agreed, "do not worry, your majesty. We will take care of them."

"I don't know what you're thinking, Dr. Kureha. But I must say that you are really brave to go take over our castle while we weren't here." Kuromarimo stated as he squared up with his afro boxing gloves.

"Hahaha… you can try all you want but you'll never be able to take down the symbol of faith that flies on this castle," Kureha pointed to the Jolly Roger at the highest point of the entire island, "even if you do kill me, Chopper will never let you."

"How dare you use our sacred castle as a cemetery? Dr. Kureha, you will be the first to die!" Kuromarimo announced as he threw an afro shaped hairball at the woman, only for Luffy to attempt to punch it away, only for it to stick to his fist. " **Eleki-Marimo!** "

"What's this?" Luffy questioned as he started shaking his arm around trying to shake the afro off, "Is it static or something?"

"Hahaha! That's right. I still have more," Kuromarimo plucked out some hair from his afro-head and threw it at the rubber man, making it stick to him again, " **Eleki-Marimo!** "

"Ah! Hey! Help me take these things off Vivi! Don't just stand there and look!" Luffy pleaded for the princess.

"Sure, sure." Vivi assured the pirate captain as she approaching him slowly.

"Hurry up! They're disgusting!" Luffy yelled. Vivi attempted to take one off, only for it to stick onto her.

'Ahh! It's stuck on me! I don't want it. Take it back!" She cried as she started whacking the afros against Luffy's rubber skin.

"No! It's just a ball! Why don't you take it?" The pirate captain insisted.

"What are they doing?" Dalton asked the doctor as they looked over the duo.

"I have no idea." Kureha replied.

"Your teamwork is pretty pathetic," Chess taunted as he drew back an flaming arrow and aimed at the princess and the pirate captain, "let me tell you something. Those balls are very flammable."

"Ah! He's going to burn these things!" Luffy shouted as he attempted to run out of the way, without realising that he was henceforth pulling Vivi with him due to the stickiness of the afro balls.

"Get out of here!" Dalton rushed the jester-looking man at prepared to smack him with his spade.

"Get out of the way, Chess!" Wapol yelled as he opened his mouth in order to chomp down on the ex-royal guard.

"Look out!" Luffy warned.

"Dalton!" The elderly doctor cried.

"Ah!" Dalton winced as he braced himself for the rock-hard teeth of Wapol chewing down on him. However, he didn't feel that at all. What he did feel however, was his feet being put firmly on the snowy ground, "Huh?"

"Huh?" Wapol and his underlings looked around to see if they could spot anything out of the ordinary.

" **Thanks for letting me out.** " Naruto stated in a deep rugged voice.

"You're welcome, now go beat them! Hahaha!" Kureha cheered, only for her to be on the receiving end of a glare.

" **I wasn't talking to you.** " Naruto told the doctor. On a closer look, Naruto's facial features looked a lot more feral and more animalistic than normal. Once Luffy noticed this, his eyes went wide, understanding the severity of the situation.

"Your majesty, this kid was also on that pirate ship!" Chess informed the tin-man.

"Ah, yes!" Wapol exclaimed, "Another person who opposes me stands right in front of me! So convenie-"

"Your majesty! Behind you!" Kuromarimo alerted the former king. Behind the tin-man stood Naruto who was pointing a kunai into the nape of Wapol.

"A-ah…" Wapol gasped as he felt the cold tip press against his skin.

"S-so fast…" Vivi stated in awe, not even a second ago he was standing next to her.

"Everyone raise your guard." Luffy ordered everyone. This demand wasn't of a regular pirate; it was as a leader, an authoritive figure with knowledge of this topic beyond everyone else. Vivi looked over her temporary captain and noticed that he was much more tense than he'd ever seen him before. Understanding that something serious was about to occur, the princess didn't question the order.

" **How does it feel?** " Naruto asked, interrupted the silence between him and the three enemies.

"W-what?" Wapol questioned.

" **How does it feel?** " Naruto repeated.

"H-how d-does what f-feel?" The tin-man asked, sweating profusely.

" **The feeling of imminent death.** " The young pirate stated with an expressionless face.

"Your majesty!" Chess cried, he was about to fire an arrow at the young pirate, only for Kuromarimo to stop him.

"If we do that then that kid will just kill the king!" The boxer reasoned.

"D-death… ha…haha….hahahahaha!" Wapol exploded with laughter, "You seriously think that I'll die!? Hahaha! I can't die to you people!" Once the tin-man said this, he bent his head back in an unhuman fashion and attempted to take a bite out of Naruto's head, only for him to step out of the way at the last moment. Using the distance between him and the blond pirate, Wapol ran towards the edge of the mountain summit.

"Are you okay, Lord Wapol!?" Kuromarimo asked as he and Chess ran after their king.

"We're very sorry. We really underestimated them!" The jester-looking man apologised.

"I will kill all of them." Wapol announced.

"Eh?" Chess raised an eyebrow. Even he couldn't understand the confidence that his king was showing.

"I will show them the real power of the Baku Baku no Mi." The tin-man stated as he stuck his chest out.

"He's really stubborn." Vivi noted.

"Yes, he's like that." Daltons shook his head, remembering the many times in which his former king's stubbornness had led to grave results.

"Chess, why don't you tell them about my menu this morning?" Wapol instructed his underling.

"Yes, your majesty. This morning you had one baked cannon, one fresh cannon, and cannon balls salad with gun powder," The jester-looking man listed, "also, you ate one restaurant in the village."

"What a weird breakfast." Vivi stated.

"There's nothing weirder than that." Kureha added.

"Take a very good look at my power after my breakfast!" Wapol grinned.

"What's he going to do?" Chopper questioned.

"Those things that I ate this morning have already digested and become part of my body!" All of a sudden, the tin-man transformed his torso into a house complete with doors, chimney, and windows all included. He also transformed his arms into cannons, with the chimney coming out of the top of his head being a cannon as well, " **Wapol House!** "

"A house?" Vivi raised an eyebrow.

"I haven't seen this before…" Dalton crossed his arms.

"That's so cool!" Luffy exclaimed, dropping his serious and tense look for a second. Naruto just stood there, observing the transformation.

"It's too soon for you to be surprised!" Wapol exclaimed, "This is the real secret of my power!"

"Ahh!" Chess and Kuromarimo cried as their king launched himself at them and chomped down on them, "Ugh!"

"What!?" Luffy exclaimed.

"Ahh! Ughh!" The underlings groaned and cried as they were being digested by the tin-man.

"He's eating them!" Chopper announced.

"He's eating his crew!" The rubber pirate shouted with anger. Wapol gritted his teeth as he released a lot of smoke from his cannons.

"Be prepared for the ultimate result of combined bodies!" Wapol announced, "Take a good look!" The door on the tin-man's torso flung open.

"What happened to them? Combined?" Vivi asked.

"Bodies?" Datlon questioned.

"We're the strongest fighter of the Drum Empire!" A strange being stepped out of Wapol. This being, the combination of Chess and Kuromarimo, was a large man with four thin arms, short legs and a wide-set body, "Chessmarimo!" 

"Didn't you just let him sit on top of you?" Vivi sweatdropped.

"That's so cool!" Luffy exclaimed.

"What part is 'so cool' about that?" The blue-haired woman asked.

"You'd better not underestimate them," Kureha warned, "if they're weak, why didn't they villagers do anything to chase them away from this country?"

"It's the opposite." Luffy stated, reverting back to his serious state.

"How so?" Kureha questioned.

"There's no way those three are going to come out of this situation alive." Luffy claimed. Naruto stood, patiently and quietly, observing his opponent.

"Quite confident." The doctor stated.

"It's a fact," Luffy replied, "either way I don't understand why Naruto's waiting to attack when he's like this…"

"What do you mean 'when he's like this'?" Vivi asked.

"Never mind." Luffy shook his head in an attempt to stop the princess from questioning.

"The first rule of Drum Empire is whoever dares to go against the king must die. I am everything to this empire because this empire belongs to me, and so does this castle!" Wapol shouted as he aimed his cannons up to the Jolly Roger that was flying proudly at the top of the castle, "So, I won't allow anyone to put that stupid flag, that belongs to that fake doctor, at the top of my castle! It makes my castle look worthless!" With that, the former king fired a cannon ball at said flag, creating an eruption at the top of the castle.

Big Horn

Nami and Usopp had continued to help the villagers in their attempt to clean up and try to rebuild the essentials that they need to survive as quickly as possible, in order to prepare for the potential onslaught of lapahns. Usopp had been tasked with going out the outskirts of the village to make sure that there were no villagers that were dying without hope of survival.

"God… why to I have to do this… the lapahns could be anywhere and I wouldn't know!" Usopp cried in fear as he cautiously walked over the snow, aware that the carnivorous rabbits could be hiding underneath ready to spring, "Why did they even make me do this, I mean if I see a person and then get killed by a lapahn that would be two people dead instead of one! And Nami said they didn't allow people outside the village after an avalanche!" As he was talking to himself he felt a hand pierce through the snow and grab him by the ankle, "Ahh!" The sniper screamed as he kicked the hand back into the snow.

"Argh! For fucks sake, get me out!" The rough voice demanded through the snow.

"O-okay, sorry about that!" Usopp apologised once he realised that it was a person instead of a murderous rabbit. Usopp clenched the open hand of the cold man underneath and, with all his strength, pulled him up, to reveal the green-haired swordsman known as Zoro, who had numerous gashes and bruises all over his body, "Z-Zoro! What were you doing under there!?"

"I was going up to the top but then jumped into the avalanche." Zoro explained as he shivered from the cold.

"You jumped into the avalanche?" Usopp raised an eyebrow.

"I'll explain it later, let's go to the town now," The swordsman stated as he started walking off, the long-nosed pirate following quickly behind, "by the way, I killed a couple of lapahns s-"

"I know, Nami told me." Usopp interrupted.

Once the duo had made it back to the local town, Usopp explained to the ex-pirate hunter about the ordeals that they had gone through and how Sanji had gone back to the ship. He also mentioned how, according to the villagers, they were not to travel back up the mountain due to the lapahns lurking underneath the layer of snow.

"Hmm… so what are we doing now?" Zoro asked, he had found a fur-lined jacket from one of the Bliking Pirates that were lying unconscious, or dead, having not been able to escape the avalanche.

"Right now we're helping to rebuild the necessities." Usopp answered.

"Zoro!" The cheerful voice of Nami called throughout the village as she skipped merrily over to the two of them in a very uncharacteristic attitude.

"What'd you want, witch?" Zoro asked.

"Oh, no need to be rude," Nami grinned, "it's just that one of the villagers told me that they needed a strong man to help him carry some logs over to where they are rebuilding a fish market. And whom do I happen to come across? You! So go over there and help out!"

"No," The green-haired man told her, "I've got nothing to do with them. Also, how is a fish market a necessitiy?"

"If you do, I'll lower your debt." Nami stated, using her skills of persuasion, which she had honed over many years.

"Fine." Zoro agreed as quickly as he had disagreed and walked over to the man carrying logs. Nami sighed as she sat down next to the long-nosed pirate.

"That's pretty manipulative," Usopp told the navigator, "he's also probably still hurt from the avalanche."

"See, that's what I thought originally," Nami began, "but then I thought, oh well, he's still gonna try and do something stupid like try and go up to the castle. So, I used that fish market thing as a distraction."

"Oh… that's pretty smart actually." The sniper stated.

"I know," Nami smiled, "do you have an idea of how many casualties there were?"

"I've asked around and the people say that, surprisingly, there weren't many," Usopp answered, "but they said that one elderly woman was hiking the mountain before the avalanche hit."

"Ah!" Nami gasped.

"What is it?" Usopp questioned.

"When we were up there, we saw the body of a dead woman who had been attacked by a lapahn," The orange-haired navigator shivered at the thought, "do you know who she was."

"Apparently, her name was Usagi, she was Dalton's mother." Usopp informed.

"Oh…" Nami said to herself as she dropped her head, "that explains why he was so devastated when he saw her… yet he still kept calm. His resolve is so strong."

Outside the Castle

"Hahaha!" Wapol's laughter screeched through the ears of everyone watching as the Jolly Roger that flew at the top of the castle got shot down and started falling towards the ground. Chopper looked upon it in silence, but his anger was building quickly, it was very clear to see.

"Hey reindeer, that flag wa-" Luffy attempted to talk to Chopper, before the doctor's assistant yelled at the top of his lungs at the former king.

"Why did you do that to doctor's pirate flag!?" Chopper shouted, he transformed into his human form and tried to rush the tin-man, only for Dalton to restrict him, "Doctor even thought about saving your life!"

"That's stupid. Kill them." Wapol ordered the combination of Chess and Kuromarimo.

"Yes, your majesty." Chessmarimo nodded.

"Hey, you, babbling mouth!" Luffy shouted out from the top of the castle, holding up the Jolly Roger.

"How dare you call Lord Wapol that!?" The combined creation of the jester and the boxer shouted.

"Eh?" Wapol raised an eyebrow, he was confused as to how the rubber pirate and reached the top of the castle so quickly.

"You're just a bunch of frauds! You became pirates without preparing to risk your lives," Luffy told them, "you will never understand the real meaning of this flag!"

"The true meaning of that flag?" Wapol questioned, "What's so important about that stupid flag anyway. It's just a stupid decoration for pirates."

"That's why you're just a worthless piece of crap." The straw-hat wearing pirate stated.

"What did you say!?" The tin-man shouted.

"This flag is not something that you can just play with for fun." Luffy told the former king.

"You fool! Why do I, the king of this empire, have to play with that stupid flag anyway?" Wapol questioned, "And who told you to put up that flag again!?"

" **Hehehe…** " The moment was broken was broken with the low, sinister, animalistic laugher of Naruto, " **Hahahahaha!** " The subtle chuckle broke out into a laughing fit.

"What're you laughing at!?" Chessmarimo demanded to know.

" **Hahaha… it's just this whole situation,** " Naruto replied, " **here we have a seemingly brain-dead monkey of a king that thinks he can kill me! And then there's this sentimental shit about that flag! That's pretty funny to me!"**

"S-sentimental shit?" Chopper's eyes went wide. He never expected ever that a pirate himself would say that a flag was a piece of sentimental junk. Vivi was also shocked, but then she remembered the conversation that she had with the blond pirate earlier on about how there would be something that she would eventually see from Naruto that would frighten her.

"It's alright," Vivi patted the reindeer who had transformed back to his neutral form, "this isn't him that's saying all this."

"What did you just call me!?" Wapol shouted in rage.

" **A brain-dead monkey, clearly you're also deaf as well.** " Naruto smirked.

"Argh! Kill him, Chessmarimo!" The tin-man ordered the combination of his underlings.

"Yes, your majesty!" Chessmarimo shouted as he aimed two giant burning arrows with his four hands at the young blond pirate, each arrow with an afro at the tip for extra power, " **Yukidoke no Ya Marimo!** " As the arrows came flying towards him, Naruto simply ducked out of the way, causing the arrows to continue on their track behind him, heading straight for the rest of the opposing force against Wapol's rule.

"Ah!" Vivi cried. Luckily, Dalton managed to block them all with his spade.

"Hahaha! See!? If you dodge these attacks, they'll hit your friends!" Chessmarimo taunted.

" **That would work, if I cared at all for those people, which I don't.** " Naruto smirked.

"Naruto…" Vivi knew for a fact that this was wrong as she had seen him be in this very same position back when they were at Whiskey Peak where he had to take oncoming exploding shotgun blast after shotgun blast from Igaram. Whatever had taken over Naruto was an extremely malicious being.

"Grr…" Chessmarimo grunted as he threw away the bows and arrow and replaced them with four large wooden mallets, " **Dobikkuri Marimo, Quatro Hammer!** " The jester and boxing-looking man rushed towards Naruto and attempted to bash him senseless. What they forgot to account for was the speed at which the young blond pirate moved. Naruto had easily been able to dodge all attacks without breaking a sweat. Chessmarimo tapped on a red button at the bottom of all the wooden mallets, causing the head of the mallet to fall off, revealing a deadly sharp axe, " **Yukiwariso!** "

" **Heh…** " Naruto grinned as he caught one of the axes as it came falling down on him and ripped it out of the enemies' hands, easily out powering him, and slashed at the belly of Chessmarimo, created an extremely deep cut and blood to spill over the once beautiful snow-white ground.

"Gyaa!" The combination of the underlings cried out in pain.

"Ahhh!" Wapol exclaimed.

" **Hahahaha! Was that it!? That was your trump card!? That's pathetic!** " Naruto laughed maliciously as he raised Chessmarimo by the throat, " **Have fun in hell.** " With that, Naruto coldly pierced the chest of Chessmarimo, his hand came out on the other side, holding the still beating heart of the combination of the underlings.

"Ahh!" Wapol screamed. Not in sadness, but of fear. He knew that with Chessmarimo killed, the chances of him dying had gone up in extreme fashion. Kureha, Vivi and Chopper looked on, stunned at the events, while Dalton and Luffy, from the top of the castle, looked on silently, neither of them making a word. Naruto pulled his hand out, still clenching the heart. Without remorse, Naruto crushed the heart that laid in his palm, blood spewing everywhere.

" **Hehehe…** " Naruto chuckled in a sadistic manner. But that wasn't the end for the cruel death of Chessmarimo. The blond pirate carried the dead body over to the mountain summit and peered over. Far below them was a hoard of lapahns feasting on their newly found prey, " **let's hope you taste good.** " Immediately, he threw the lifeless body of Chessmarimo over the edge and landed with a thud against the ground, alerting the lapahns. Within seconds, the body of the combination of underlings had been ripped up and chewed until it was impossible to tell who it was anymore.

"H-how cruel…" Wapol stated.

" **You're one to talk,** " Naruto turned to face the tin-man with the same cold, piercing red eyes that had looked down upon Chessmarimo during his final moments, " **I'm going to kill you now.** "

"H-haha… y-you can't kill me! I'm the king of this empire!" Wapol continued with his belief of because of him being king he was invincible.

" **It doesn't matter whether you're a king or a god, I will still kill you.** " Naruto said as he approached Wapol, who had reverted back to his original form.

"N-no! Stop!" Wapol tried to run away, but ended up tripping over himself.

"How pathetic." Dalton stated as he looked upon the scene, secretly wishing that he were in Naruto's place. Naruto, being within an arms length from the tin-man, looked him dead in the eye.

" **I'm going to ask you again,** " The first mate began, " **how does imminent death feel?** " 

"Well…" Wapol grinned as he opened his mouth to reveal a giant cannon hiding in his mouth, "I should be asking you the same question! **Bero Cannon!** " The tin-man sent a massive cannonball flying at Naruto, creating a massive explosion on impact, which Wapol himself barely managed to avoid.

"Naruto!" Vivi cried out in concern.

" **How stupid can you be?** " Wapol wasn't able to turn around in time to see Naruto before he was pushed onto the ground, with the blond pirates foot on the tin-man's back and held his two arms and was slowly pulling them back.

"Agh!" Wapol winced in pain.

" **I'm going to ask you this question, one more time. How does imminent death feel?** " Naruto asked once more.

"W-why do you keep asking me that!?" Wapol questioned, his response for talking back was an even stronger pull on the arms. It was clear for everyone to see that Naruto wasn't just doing this to destroy him physically, it was to destroy him mentally.

"If he keeps doing that he'll break Wapol's arms." Kureha noted.

"That's what he's aiming for." Luffy stated, having come back down from the top of the castle, holding the Jolly Roger.

" **Answer the question.** " Naruto ordered.

"It feels scary and chilling and cold!" Wapol shouted back, tears rolling down his eyes, "Please don't kill me!"

" **Hmm, well you did answer the question, so…** " Naruto then yanked on the arms as quickly and as powerfully as he could, in the process breaking both arms and causing extreme pain to the tin-man, " **no.** "

"Gyaaa!" Wapol screamed in pain. Naruto then placed his foot on the side of Wapol's head and forced him onto the snowy ground.

" **This must hurt a lot,** " Naruto noted as he pushed the tin-man's head into the ground with his red-brown sandals, " **if you want me to stop, just ask.** "

"Ghhpfhh! Ghhppfhh!" The tin-man attempted to make some sort of plea, but couldn't has he couldn't move his head due to the pressure between the sandals and the ground.

" **C'mon, it's easy, just ask for to stop.** " Naruto continued.

"Ghhpfhh!" Wapol kept on trying to say something but couldn't. Tears fell from his face, as he knew that his life was ending.

" **Huh, such a shame, I would've stopped if you'd asked, but oh well,** " Naruto started applying more pressure to the skull of Wapol, " **I hope that you've enjoyed your time on this planet**."

In the split second before his death, the former king of the Drum Empire looked up at his conqueror, the small, young kid, with red, teary eyes. In the matter of a few minutes, Naruto had conquered Wapol physically, mentally and emotionally. He had reverted the tin-man from a overconfident king to a blubbering child, which he was. He was a child in the way that he acted and how he went about his kingly duties.

Chopper looked on with wide eyes as Naruto pressed down with enough force to completely crack Wapol's skull, blood spilling everywhere.

"Doctor." The reindeer called the woman.

"Yes?" Kureha responed.

"That guy…" Before the little doctor's assistant could continue, Luffy suddenly appeared behind the young blond pirate and delivered a strong quick blow to the head, subsequently knocking him unconscious.

"Ah! Luffy!" Vivi shouted, "Why'd you do that?"

"Trust me, this is what's best," Luffy told the princess as he lifted Naruto onto his shoulders, "I promise I'll explain everything later."

' _Incredible…_ ' thought Dalton as he stared at the now powerless, ' _for someone as young as him to destroy a king both physically and mentally…_ '

"Hmm… now how to get down…" Luffy said to himself as he squinted his eyebrows in thought.

"Thank you very much!" Dalton dropped down to his knees and bowed towards Luffy, "I am sure that from now, Drum Empire will become a better country!"

"I'm sure it will be much better with you running it." Vivi cheered on the spade-wielding man, who smiled at her comment.

"Hey, reindeer!" Luffy shouted out to Chopper, who had started backing back into the castle.

"Huh?" The reindeer raised an eyebrow, "What is it?"

"You want to become a pirate, right? Kureha told me so," Luffy stated, "come with me!"

"T-that's impossible." Chopper replied nervously, surprised that the pirate that he had met just today knew of his dream.

"Why is it impossible? A pirate's life is very fun, you know?" The rubber pirate encouraged.

"I don't think that's what he means." Vivi told the captain.

"I really want to thank you." The doctor's assistant began.

"Chopper…" Kureha looked on at the scene, with the hope that her assistant might finally fulfil the dream that had been implemented into him by Hiluluk.

"But I am a reindeer. I have hooves and horns, I even have a blue nose!" Chopper yelled, "I do want to be a pirate, I really really do! I want to be brave like all of you! But I'm not human! I'm a monster! I can't be friends with humans! Thank you for asking… but I will stay here. If you're bored just come to visit me sometimes."

"Just shut up and come with us!" Luffy demanded with as much passion and spirit as he could muster, shocking the reindeer.

"What a noisy person." Dalton muttered.

"O-okay!" Chopper shouted back, with a quick yet powerful change of heart.

Big Horn

Night had fallen upon the town of Big Horn, with the immediate effect of the avalanche practically over; the townspeople had reverted back to their normal, casual selves. The crew of Sanji, Usopp, Nami, Zoro and Carue had gathered outside in the snow, on duty to make sure that no lapahns could make their way to the village.

"Look!" Usopp pointed up to the full moon lit sky with his outstretched right hand, "What is that!?" The rest of the crew looked up to see the silhouette of a reindeer carrying a sleigh. It seemed to fly across the night sky.

"Wow…" Sanji gasped in awe as the reindeer seemingly danced across the stars. At least, that was how it looked like, until it came crashing down at surprisingly high speeds right to the side of them, "Ah!"

"Quack!" Carue sounded, alarmed.

"Yahoo!" From the sleigh, they heard the familiar voice of the straw-hat wearing captain, "That's so cool. Can we do it again?" Luffy jumped out of the sleigh onto the snowy ground, realising that the rest of his crew was there, he greeted them delightedly, "Oh, hey guys."

"Are you nuts!?" Nami shouted as she whacked the rubber pirate against his head, "You nearly crushed us!"

"But we didn't." Naruto stated as he rose from the sleigh, having regained consciousness from the impact of the landing. Vivi followed him soon after.

"Anyway!" Luffy interrupted a potential argument, "I'd like to introduce our new crewmate!" As the rubber pirate ran around to the front of the sleigh to get Chopper, he saw that the reindeer had moved. He looked around until he saw the doctor hiding behind a tree, the opposite way, "Found you."

"Ah!" Chopper voiced. The reindeer looked at all his new crewmates and was filled with a sense of hope and excitement, "H-hey, I-I'm Chopper."

"Ohh, aren't you cute." Nami cooed over the reindeer.

"Shut up!" Chopper yelled at the navigator, while doing a celebratory dance, "I don't want any gratitude from humans! You're still human!"

"You don't know how to hide your feelings at all!" Nami noted. Everyone was alarmed when they heard a loud bang come from the castle. It sounded like a cannon.

"Huh!? What's that!?" Sanji yelled.

"Quick! Run!" Usopp shouted as he desperately tried running away, only for his feet to trip him up in the snow. The crew were on high alert, until they noticed that falling from the sky wasn't gunpowder or anything of the sort, instead it was pink snow. Chopper stared at the snow in shock.

"That's so cool." Luffy stated in awe.

"Yeah." Zoro agreed.

"It's so beautiful." Nami commented.

"Aah…" Chopper let out a barely audible cry as tears freely flowed like a waterfall from his eyes, "Woooahhh! Waaaahhhh!" For that single moment, everything was at peace. It seemed as though their efforts in taking down Wapol had proved fruitful, this one moment would signify the positive and hate-free future that the Drum Empire would see.

"Grrr…" There was a low grumble coming from the forest.

"W-who's there!?" Usopp shouted. Almost immediately, at least a hundred angry lapahns cautiously stepped out of the cover of the trees and began approaching the crew slowly.

"Shit…" Zoro muttered as he placed both hands over the closest katana.

"A-ah…" Nami lost her breath when she saw the carnivorous rabbits approaching them. Without request, Chopper made his way over to the snow-rabbits.

"Chopper!" Vivi cried. The reindeer stood in front of the dangerous hoard of lapahns, mumbling incomprehensible words to the mammals, for them to respond with the same.

"Is he… talking to them?" Sanji raised an eyebrow. Soon, Chopper returned to the crew.

"They're really angry because one of them died," Chopper began, "they were going to attack the village, but I convinced them not to, on one condition."

"What's the condition?" Naruto asked.

"They demand a gift from one of you, to reconcile." The reindeer explained.

"Hm…" Sanji thought for a moment before he reached into his backpack and revealed several high-quality drinks, "I was gonna give these to you guys once we had left, but I guess this is more important."

"When did you find the time to make those?" The sniper questioned.

"When me and Carue were on the Going Merry." Sanji answered before he walked over to the killer rabbits. The cook bent down on one knee and offered the drinks to the lapahns. The largest and most ferocious of the beasts accepted the drink and had a taste, to make sure that it wasn't simply water.

"Ahhh!" The lapahn exclaimed with pleasure.

"Pretty good, eh?" Sanji grinned. Quickly, the lapahns dispersed once again throughout the forest, satisfied with their gift, henceforth eliminating the threat of attack.

"Wow, we're lucky to have you Chopper!" Vivi stated, "If it wasn't for you talking to them, we wouldn't know what to do!"

"Yeah, you're our doctor, but you can also be our translator!" Luffy announced.

"Doctor?" Nami raised an eyebrow, having not been told about Chopper's skills.

"Oh yeah, Chopper's a doctor," Luffy replied, "why'd you think I asked him to join us?"

"Emergency food supply." Sanji stated with a deathly gaze upon the reindeer.

"Ah!" Chopper gasped dramatically, much to the amusement of the crew.

Castle

"It's a beautiful scene." Dalton told the elderly doctor who was sitting on the edge of the mountain.

"It's really hard to understand a crazy person's mind," Kureha commented, referring to Hiluluk, "take care, stupid son!"

"They must be out of the island by now," The spade-wielding man told the doctor, "I've never thought that a reindeer would carry on the greatest doctor's will."

"Even Hiluluk can grow sakura in this winter empire, I believe that the reindeer can become a pirate," Kureha grinned as she took a gulp of rum, "he even said that he is a man. Hahaha!"

"This empire will be reborn once again just like him." Dalton smiled in hope. The two of them sat there in silence for a moment.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you," Kureha began, "about a week ago, there was a man in Ropel. He looked like a regular traveller but the weird thing is was that it wasn't snowing that day. Nobody knew where he was from, but he said that he's looking for the Blackbeard Pirates. When I had told him that they've already left he asked me if I had ever seen a pirate with a straw-hat and a young blond pirate. When I told him that I've never seen one, he gave me this paper and said," Kureha showed the Akuma no Mi user the paper, "if they're here, please tell them that I will wait in Alabasta for ten days."

"Did he give you his name?" Dalton asked.

"He said his name was Ace." The woman replied.

"Oh well, it doesn't matter that you didn't tell them because their next destination is Alabasta, I think." Dalton informed the doctor.

"You know what I just don't understand at all?" Kureha started, "How did that kid manage to move his left arm, with all my medical knowledge I was so sure that the nerves couldn't reconnect."

"Maybe you're just getting daft in your old age." Dalton joked.

"Haha, very funny," The doctor replied sarcastically, "but still, the ability to move ones arm after being severed is certainly a phenomenon…" After this there was yet another moment of silence.

"What is, Dr. Kureha? Why are you so quiet?" The Akuma no Mi user questioned.

"Do you know 'Gol D. Roger'?" Kureha asked suddenly.

"D? You mean Gold Rogers?" Dalton questioned, "Of course. There's no one on this planet who doesn't know about him."

"I see now, they call him Gold Rogers…" Kureha muttered, "it seems that my reindeer has followed a dangerous man."

"Huh?" Dalton raised an eyebrow but decided not to follow up on Kureha's ominous statement, instead opting for basking in the sense of accomplishment and tranquillity that they had received for the first time in a long time.

Seas Around Drum Island

"Hahahahaha!" The entire crew was filled with a powerful sense of cheerfulness and joy, added with the falling petals of sakura.

"This is a great night!" Usopp stated with a smile on his face, "A full moon and sakura!" He turned and noticed that Chopper was conversing with Carue, "Chopper! How long are you going to sit there! Let's come here and drink together."

"It's a very beautiful sakura night," Sanji grinned as he sat in the middle of the deck, drinking rum, having his leg patched up with a bandage from their new doctor. According to Chopper his injury was something minor that would go away within a day or two, "I've never thought that I would see sakura in this winter empire."

"That's right!" Zoro shouted as he filled up his cup, "We need to get drunk tonight!" The night continued on joyfully. However, there was one member of the crew that removed himself from the celebrations; Naruto. He had been up in the Crow's Nest ever since they had come back to the Going Merry. He sat there, with his hands on his knees and his head looking down.

' _Why…?_ ' He thought to himself in his head, ' _why did I have to succumb to using Kyūbi's power? Am I really that weak?_ ' Before he could continue with his self-loathing, Vivi tapped him on the shoulder, Naruto jumped up, he hadn't noticed her creep up on him.

"Oh, it's just you." Naruto stated when he saw it was the blue-haired princess.

"What'd you mean 'it's just you'?" Vivi questioned.

"Nothing." The blond pirate replied.

"Hmph, whatever," Vivi pouted. There was a small moment of silence where the both of them were embraced by the presence of each other, with the sounds of the festivities down below them growing quieter and quieter, not from the rest of the crew calming down, but from the lack of focus towards it, "listen… we need to talk."

"About?" Naruto questioned.

"About what happened back at the castle," Vivi explained, "what…what was that?"

"I warned you before." The first mate reminded the princess.

"Yeah I know," Vivi stated, recalling their conversation earlier in the men's room, "but I just didn't expect it to be so… feral."

"What did you expect it to be?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know to be honest," Vivi replied, "I just want to know one thing. Did you know what you were doing? When you were like that?"

"I knew exactly what I was doing," The first mate replied, citing a gasp from Vivi, "but that doesn't mean I had any control over it."

"W-what'd you mean?" The princess asked.

"When I'm in that state, it's not like I have lost consciousness completely," Naruto explained, "I can see what I'm doing and can hear what I'm saying, but I can't say what I want nor do what I want."

"So… y-you're practically a puppet." Vivi summarised.

"Yes, I'm just the vessel for someone else's needs," Naruto stated angrily, "the worst thing that happened to me at that castle, was hearing me say that a pirate's flag was sentimental junk."

"Huh?" The princess raised an eyebrow, surely out of everything that happened, disrespecting a pirate's flag was by no means the worst.

"I understand how much that means… especially to Luffy," Naruto continued, "and for me to say something like that… it's horrible… also for Chopper to hear that, someone who aspired to become a pirate." Vivi was shocked; this was the first time that she had ever seen Naruto show any form of remorse, despite him not being in control of himself.

"Naruto…" The princess stated, looking over his body.

"You can come out now." The blond pirate stated, seemingly without an intended target.

"What?" Vivi questioned, only for Chopper to climb up onto the Crow's Nest, having been hiding on the ladders.

"H-hey…" The reindeer said anxiously, feeling guilty for eavesdropping on an intimate discussion, "U-Usopp said he wants to m-make an announcement."

"Okay, thanks for telling us," Vivi responded, with Chopper rushing down the ladders as quickly as he could, leaving the two of them up there, "we should go down, wouldn't want to keep them waiting." Without a word, Naruto rose and made his way down to the deck, followed by Vivi.

"Alright, everyone listen up!" Usopp shouted as he held up a pint of rum, "Here is a toast to our new doctor, Chopper! For our new friend!"

"I…" Chopper was feeling a mixture of surprise and immense happiness.

"Let's have a toast!" Luffy shouted in his typical joyful nature.

"Quack!" Caure hiccupped. 

"Carue, you've been drinking too much!" Vivi scolded the spot-billed duck.

"I didn't know ducks could get drunk…" Naruto stated.

"Hey, stupid chef. Bring me more food!" Zoro ordered.

"What did you say!?" Sanji exploded, "How dare you order me!?"

"Sanji, are we out of dinosaur meat?" The rubber pirate asked the cook. Chopper looked upon the unruly celebrations on the verge of tears.

"This is the first time in my life that I feel truly happy." Chopper grinned, excited about finally becoming a pirate.

Hiluluk's sakura's spread throughout the night sky of the winter empire, representing that this empire had been set free. And this, the sakura of Hiluluk had become a legend. Not long after this incident, this country has been reborn under this pirate flag, a symbol of hope.

 **There you go, I hope you enjoyed this new chapter. Apologies for the long wait.**


	8. Alabasta Part One

**Port Town Nanohana**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own this, all rights go to Eiichiro Oda and Kishimoto**

Nanohana was typically a peaceful port town in Alabasta. On most days the people would go through their typical daily routines of going to work in one of the numerous shops with its irresistible perfumes and smells. However, today was different. Today their usual schedule wouldn't work. Today they had been attacked by pirates.

Due to Nanohana being the closest town in Alabasta to the ocean, it was extremely vulnerable to naval attacks from all sorts of people. Normally, they would have Royal Guards protecting the town for the chance of an attack. They weren't there today, however, as they had to attend a meeting at Rainbase.

The townspeople did everything they could to defend themselves, but regular citizens had no hope of fending off a band of pirates.

"Ugh!" One of the townspeople groaned as he got violently kicked in the stomach by one of the pirates.

"Hehe…" The pirate in question grinned maliciously as the rest of his crew raided one of the shops, "how pathetic."

"G-get out!" A brave elderly man attempted to swing his walking stick at the back of one of the pirates' heads, only for it to be evaded and be swung back in his face, "Agh!"

"Haha, don't you realise there's nothing you can do?" The captain sneered as he looked into the eyes of one of the women as her eyes began to tear up, "There's no need to be afraid, trust me, just bend over for me," it was at this point that the captain realised that the tears of the woman were not of fear, they were of happiness.

"Crocodile!" She cried with happiness.

"C-Crocodile!" The elderly man exclaimed.

"Huh?" The pirates raised an eyebrow, "What's going on?"

"Oh Crocodile, you've come for us!" The woman gleamed.

"Crocodile! Crocodile! Crocodile! Crocodile!" The people began to chant.

"What? No way…" The captain began shaking in fear, "the Shichibukai?"

"Silence, you ignorant peasants! I have only come for that pirate's head!" The words bellowed throughout the town from the top of one of the many luxurious shops. The pirates immediately cast their attention to the holder of the voice, and what they saw was possibly the worst thing that could have been there. They saw was a tall man with a wide chest, broad shoulders, muscular arms and legs, and a thick neck. He had pale skin and nape-length black hair which was kept neatly slicked back. His eyes were deep-set and heavy-lidded. The man wore a bright orange, black-stripped button up vest over a long-sleeve peach shirt, along with a blue scarf, dark brown suit pants, and polished black shoes with gold buckles. Along with this, he wore a long, thick, dark grey pelted fur coat with a regular grey fur trim. The two most prominent features of this man was the long stitched scar at the bridge of his nose that stretched across his face and a large hook made from a tough gold alloy in place of his left hand. He looked down on both the pirates and the townspeople with a facial expression of condescension. This powerful man was Sir Crocodile of the Shichibukai.

"So cool!" The woman swooned.

"But you always save us! Long live Crocodile!" The people cheered, "The Guardian Deity of Alabasta, Crocodile! King of the Desert! Crocodile!"

"Kuhahaha… fine… call me whatever you like…" Crocodile spoke with a deep, relaxed voice, "however, you pirates have brought violence into this kingdom."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Don't get too full of yourself! You think you can take on all of us by yourself!?" The pirate captain yelled, "You're a government dog who sold his soul for power! What the hell do you think you're doing, acting like a hero!?" Crocodile grinned.

"Get down on the ground if you don't want to die!" The Shichibukai warned as he jumped off from the building towards them.

"Is he nuts!? Easy prey!" The captain yelled as he commanded his crew to hold up their swords up so that Crocodile couldn't avoid them, "Kill him! All the gold in this town is ours!"

"Rahh!" The pirates yelled as they stabbed the Shichibukai all over his body.

"Gwahahaha! So this is the great Shichibukai!?" The captain laughed. Crocodile simply stared down at the captain before he placed his palm just a bit away from his face, "Wha-?" Without a second of hesitation, Crocodile sent a powerful surge of sand at the pirates, causing them to get sliced and cut up in many different positions. Within seconds, all of the attacking pirates laid dead, buried in the bloody sand.

"You and I are not in the same league, swine." Crocodile said condescendingly at the dead pirates.

"Crocodile! Crocodile! Crocodile!" The townspeople cheered in victory as their saviour walked out of town with a sack of gold over his shoulder, "Crocodile! Crocodile!" The Shichibukai reached into this pocket and pulled out a Den-Den Mushi.

"I'm coming back now." He informed the person on the other end in his deep voice.

"You'd better be back soon." A feminine voice stated from the other end.

"Why?" Crocodile asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's having a fit again." The woman answered in a cold voice.

"Shit." Crocodile cursed as he began hurrying to his destination.

 **Alubarna Palace**

"He beat us to it again?" Within the palace of Alubarna sat the King of Alubarna, Nefeltari Cobra. Cobra was a man of average height. He had a wrinkled face, a tied-off beard, and long, curly, black hair. He wore a green robe with yellow edging, an orange and beige sash around his waist, and a purple coat. He also wore a sandal and necklace. Along with Cobra, two Royal guards kneeled before him.

"By the time we reached Nanohana, he had already left..." One of the Royal Guards explained.

"I see. Well, as long as the people are safe…" Cobra sighed, "as much as I hate to admit it, we owe him a great debt."

 **Going Merry**

"No, nope, no way. I don't know anything about it. Not at all. Not me." The straw-hat wearing pirate captain was sweating like a pig as he was being questioned by Sanji.

"Hey, why do you keep looking away? Look straight into my eyes. Now let me ask you," Sanji began, "how is it that the rations for eight that I had saved up to take us to Alabasta suddenly disappeared in the middle of the night? Resistance is futile, you'd be a terrible poker player. Hey, there's something around your mouth."

"Crap! Leftovers!?" Luffy yelled as he covered his mouth.

"It was you!" Sanji shouted in anger as he kicked his rubber captain to the other side of the deck.

"Huh?" Nami questioned as she walked out onto the deck.

"Oh, Nami! Can you believe that asshole!? You gotta buy me a refrigerator with a lock!" Sanji requested.

"Yeah, I'll think about it. Our lives probably depend on it." Nami agreed. While this was going on, Naruto was sitting on one of the beach chairs at the bow of the ship. He decided that it was imperative to catch up on reading the book on Chakra as he hadn't gotten a chance to do so in quite a while.

' _Because chakra takes time and a great deal of training to gradually build up, the key to its use is not actually having chakra but instead being able to sufficiently control and conserve it. This is called chakra control. In order to have good chakra control, one should only mould as much chakra as they need to perform a given ability.'_ Naruto read to himself, "Huh… so instead of using as much 'chakra' as I can, only use as much as necessary…"

"What're you reading?" Naruto turned to see the blue-haired princess approach him.

"A book." Naruto replied simply.

"I can see that; what book are you reading?" Vivi asked.

"It's a book about something called chakra." The blond pirate answered.

"Oh yeah, I know about that." Vivi stated, much to the surprise of Naruto.

"How?" Naruto questioned.

"There are loads of old books about it in the palace," Vivi explained, "when I was younger I was forced to read about it, along with some other stuff from ancient times."

"Ancient times? What'd you mean?" The first mate raised an eyebrow.

"Chakra was a technique that was used by people many centuries ago," The princess told him, "oh… wait… those techniques that you're using… are they due to chakra?"

"I think so," Naruto replied, "at first I knew it simply as energy, but since Hawkeye I've been thinking of it as chakra."

"Hawkeye!?" Vivi exclaimed, "When did you meet him?"

"A while back in the East Blue," Naruto stated, "but that doesn't matter, what does matter though, is those books about chakra back at the palace. Do you know if they're still there?"

"Probably, I don't see why not." Vivi replied.

"Okay, once we kill Crocodile can you give me some of those books?" Naruto asked.

"Aren't you confident," Vivi sweatdropped, "but speaking of Crocodile, I need to tell everyone something. Hey, everyone come to the deck!" With this, the rest of the crew congregated on the deck at the command of the blue-haired princess, "I need to tell you how Crocodile is seen in Alabasta."

"How he's seen?" Zoro questioned.

"Yeah, he's considered a hero over there." Vivi informed the crew.

"Hero? Crocodile is the hero of Alabasta!?" Nami repeated, shocked.

"Basically, the Shichibukai are pirates working for the World Government. Whether the Shichibukai crush pirates for treasure or the marines crush pirates in the name of justice, the people's gratitude doesn't change. After all, their town's attackers are driven away." Vivi explained.

"I get it now… so the people would never even dream of Crocodile being anything other than a saviour…" Sanji muttered.

"The hero of Alabasta is actually trying to take control of their country." Nami stated.

"Look out Crocodile!" Luffy announced as he punched a fist into the air, "I just need to kick his ass, right?"

"Yes, first we'll stop the rebellion," Vivi smiled at her temporary captain's childlike naivety, "if we can drive the Baroque Works out of Alabasta my country will be saved."

"Wait, hold on. How the hell does this Baroque Works' system work, anyways?" Usopp asked.

"The system is simple. At the top is Crocodile... Mr. 0. There are thirteen agents who take orders directly from the boss. Twelve men and one animal. All their names are 'Mr.' plus a number. They are paired with female agents who compliment their particular powers. Mr. 13 and Miss Friday are special in that they punish the other agents for failure," Vivi explained, "all the agents from Mr. 5 up are called 'Officer Agents'. Most of them have Akuma no Mi powers. They don't act unless the business is extremely important. Below them are the 'Frontier Agents'. They command the basic units. Their job is to raised funds for the company around the entrance to the Grand Line. That is the secret criminal organisation 'Baroque Works' in a nutshell."

"I get it now! Look out Crocodile!" Luffy announced once more, "I just need to kick his ass, right!?"

"You didn't understand a word she said, did you?" Sanji sighed as he puffed on his cigarette.

"Then that means, if the takeover of Alabasta is the Baroque Works' final plan… then the 'Officer Agents' should all be together." Vivi stated, frightening Usopp and Chopper, both of whom were scared witless of facing even one of them.

"That's better," Naruto told the crew, "if they were all separated then we'd have to track them down and that'd take too much time. It's better that they're all together."

"Agreed," Vivi nodded, "also, I forgot to tell you, but Crocodile has a secret weapon, that not even the other 'Officer Agents' know about."

"Is it a cannon or something?" Zoro asked.

"No, the secret weapon isn't a machine, it's a human." The princess informed the crew.

"H-how scary!" Chopper cried.

"I suspect that the reason that Miss All-Sunday reported me to Crocodile at the time that she did was because I had discovered the existence of the secret weapon." Vivi stated.

"What does this 'secret weapon' look like?" Nami asked.

"I don't know," Vivi answered, "the only reason I know of it was because of some top secret documents that I read that recorded the kidnapping of a child who had extremely violent tendencies."

"So? That doesn't mean that person's still there." Naruto stated.

"That's what I thought at first, but then I saw that the documents had records of it's behaviour with the most recent update coming in just over a month ago." Vivi explained.

"From reading those records you must've at least figured out their gender." Nami stated.

"Unfortunately not, the documents only refer to the secret weapon as 'it'." Vivi replied.

"So we don't really know anything about this so-called 'secret weapon'." Naruto mumbled.

"Pretty much." The blue-haired princess sighed with frustration.

"Luffy!" The moment of discussion was broken with a loud angry yell from the resident cook, "I thought I told you not to eat the bait! If we don't have any bait, we can't catch anything!"

"But you ate some." Luffy replied while still chomping down on the bait.

"I only ate the stuff on the bottom of the lid!" Sanji retorted as he snatched the bait back. Meanwhile, Usopp, Chopper and Carue were leading up against the kitchen door, daydreaming about the variety of marine life that they could catch swimming below them in the sea.

"I want to catch a sea monster." Usopp smiled.

"I wonder if we'll catch a shark." The reindeer beamed with a twinkle in his eye.

"Quack!" Carue nodded blissfully. Vivi smiled gracefully at the sight of her three crewmates relaxing and wishing, for she knew that the seriousness and the intensity of the situation that they were in would increase ten-fold in the near future. The princess's eyes eventually wandered onto the sea in front of them, she was greeted with a sight that confused her more than shocked her.

"What is that?" Vivi asked, "Smoke?" Ahead of them was a large wall of a steam that rose high into the sky.

"What's that?" The sniper questioned.

"Is it cotton candy?" Chopper asked.

"Nami!" Vivi called out, "There's something up ahead!"

"Oh, don't worry," Nami replied, already knowledgeable on the situation, "it's nothing. Just steam."

"Just steam, from the ocean!?" Vivi questioned.

"It's a hotspot." Naruto chimed. Nami was taken back by the young blond pirate's maritime knowledge.

"What's that?" Luffy asked.

"Below us, there are loads of underwater volcanoes, and the hotspot is where the magma comes out." Naruto explained with a comprehensible understanding on the topic.

"There are volcanoes underwater?" Chopper questioned.

"Yes, there are much more volcanoes underwater than on land." The navigator added.

"Wow!" Usopp exclaimed.

"Who cares, we can't eat it." Luffy muttered, his hunger getting to his head.

"In several thousand years there will be a new island here." Nami continued.

"That's so cool Nami!" Sanji swooned.

"Wow… it's amazing." Vivi stated.

"Yeah," Nami nodded, before glancing over at the first mate, "how'd you know all that stuff about hotspots."

"Just one of those obscure things that people know about," Naruto reasoned, "why do you ask?"

"Just curious." The navigator replied.

"Seven thousand years… I wonder if I'll be alive then." Luffy wondered.

"No, you'd die." Usopp replied. As the ship approached closer and closer to the wall of steam, the salt water aroma from the sea turned into a burning, sulphuric smell.

"Whoa!" Sanji exclaimed while the rest of the crew were coughing and hacking.

"It smells horrible." Usopp stated as he squinted his eyes.

"I can't see anything! Only steam!" Luffy added.

"Just hold on, we'll be out soon." Nami encouraged. After a few moments of silence as the crew were trying to prevent themselves from complaining about the smell, they heard the banging against the side of the ship. Naruto volunteered himself to go and check what it was.

"The fuck?" Naruto questioned.

"What is it?" Nami asked.

"An okama." Naruto answered with an expressionless face.

"Hello there!" Below them, on the side of the ship, was a relatively tall male cross dresser wearing flamboyant ballet clothes with a swan theme in a small row boat. He wore a pink over coat and blue medieval clothes. He wore heavy makeup and had a wide grin on his face with his legs, being exposed, being very hairy.

"What'd you want." Naruto demanded.

"Well, I got separated from my crew, and I'm hoping that you kind people could help me." The man explained.

"Okay." The first mate nodded before he walked back to the centre of the deck.

"Are we gonna help him?" Sanji asked.

"I don't care," Naruto shrugged, "not my problem."

"Does he have food?" Luffy asked.

"Maybe." Naruto answered.

"Then of course we'll help him!" The straw-hat wearing pirate grinned. After a few minutes, the crew had pulled up the stray okama from his row boat and sat him down in the kitchen.

"Thank you very much. You are wonderful people!" The man thanked graciously, "My life has been saved by pirates that I don't even know. I will never forget this. Might I have a warm cup of soup?"

"No!" The whole crew shouted, "We're hungry too!"

"Oh, well thank you anyway. If I had crashed or a wave had taken me under I would be done for!" The man exclaimed, "I can't swim, you see."

"Shishi, so you can't swim either." Luffy grinned.

"Yes. I ate an Akuma no Mi." The man explained.

"Really!? What kind?" Usopp asked.

"Yes, well I must wait for my ship to come back anyways. So I might as well put on a show," The okama stood up in a proud stance, "this is my power!" With that, he struck Luffy square in the face with an open palm.

"Luffy!" The crew cried. Without hesitation, Naruto pinned the man against the deck and held a kunai up against his neck.

"I'll kill you." Naruto stated in his cold, emotionless voice.

"Wait, wait, wait! I told you this was my show!" The man pleaded. It was at this point that Naruto realised that the face of the okama had morphed into Luffy's.

"What?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Stop joking around!" The man shouted as he pushed Naruto off him, with considerable strength, which surprised the young pirate.

"Huh? Its me!" Luffy exclaimed as he recovered from the forceful push of the okama.

"They're identical!" Chopper cried, astonished.

"Surprised!? Surprised!? Gahahaha!" The man laughed, "When I touch my left hand, my face goes back to normal. This is the power of the Mane Mane no Mi!"

"The voice… even the physique is the same!" Usopp exclaimed as he examined the man acting as Luffy.

"Whoa! Cool!" Luffy grinned.

"Well, it's not necessary to punch you for it to work," The man began as he began touching every crewmate's face with his right hand, except for Naruto, who was still on high alert, "if I just touch your face with my right hand I can imitate anyone just like this! I'm so sorry, but that's all I can show you."

"You're awesome!" Chopper and Luffy cheered, "Do some more!"

"Very well!" The man smiled widely.

"So much for being decisive." Zoro muttered.

"I've also got a perfect memory!" The okama stated as he began changing faces once more, "Every face I've ever touched! I never forget a single one."

"Ridiculous…" The swordsman mumbled. The man continued changing into generic faces until he reached a very well-known face for Vivi, a face that she had grown up looking at, the face that inspired her. The face of Nefeltari Cobra, her father.

"What!?" Vivi exclaimed in shock.

"How do you like my super-special talent!?" The okama asked, "I usually never show this to people!"

"Cool!" Luffy, Usopp and Chopper clapped and cheered the performance.

"Someone kill them," Nami sweatdropepd as she turned to look across the sea only for her to see an approaching ship, "hey! There's a ship coming this way. Is it yours?"

"Oh me my me! Is it time to leave already!? Too bad." The okama told the crew as he stood on the railing.

"Aww!" The sad trio of Chopper, Usopp and Luffy whined.

"Do not be sad, my babies! Separation is inevitable!" The man proclaimed with tears in his eyes, "Never forget me! Length of time means nothing to true friendship!" With that, the okama jumped off the Going Merry onto his ship that had pulled up alongside them.

"Let's go, lovelies!" The okama ordered his crew.

"Yes sir! Mr. 2 Bon Clay!" The crew responded as they sailed off.

"Mr. 2!?" The crew exclaimed.

"That was Mr. 2!?" Vivi cried.

"Vivi! Didn't you recognise his face!?" Luffy questioned.

"No… I've never met Mr. 2 or the Mr. 1 pair. I didn't know that he had any powers either!" The princess told the crew, "But I did hear rumours about him… that he was a huge okama, talked like an okama, wore a swan coat, which had 'Okama Way' written on his back."

"You should've noticed." Zoro told the princess.

"One of those past faces he showed off from memory was my fathers! What in the world will he use my father's face to do!?" Vivi cried.

"I don't know; he could definitely do some bad things with it." The green-haired swordsman mumbled.

"We just let a really dangerous guy get away." Usopp folded his arms.

"He was an enemy?" Chopper questioned.

"Shit… he touched everyone's faces, except mine, assuming he finds out we're enemies if he uses his memories to turn into one of us we won't be able to trust each other." Naruto stated grimly.

"Wait a minute Naruto. You may have a point, but there's no need to be afraid of him," Zoro grinned, "I think we're lucky that we met him. Now we can use countermeasures."

"How so?" Sanji questioned.

"Chopper," The swordsman alerted the reindeer, "can you get some bandages?" The doctor nodded enthusiastically, happy to be of use, and ran to the doctor's office and came back as fast as he left.

"Hm? What do we need bandages for? Is someone hurt?" Luffy wondered. Zoro ignored his oblivious captain as he handed out small straps of the constricting bandage to each member of the crew.

"Tie them on tight," The ex-pirate hunter instructed as he did so himself, with the bandage going around his left forearm, "our enemies have plenty of mysteries."

"I see," Nami nodded in realisation, "as long as we can see these, we don't need to doubt one another."

"Now that we know he's among the enemy we can't allow for any careless individual actions." Zoro told the crew.

"Hey, what should I do?" Chopper asked, not being a fan of confrontation.

"Just do what you can, nothing else," Usopp answered, "run away from enemies you can't beat! Just do your best!"

"You're just telling that to yourself." Sanji muttered.

"What I can do… got it!" The doctor nodded.

"Land ahead." Naruto alerted the crew.

"Ahh! Food!" Luffy exclaimed at the prospect of finally landing back on land and shoving his face full of delicious food.

"Let's stop in that inlet to the west. We have to hide the ship." Vivi instructed.

"Well said." Nami agreed. Luffy looked up at the upcoming harbour before turning back to stand in the centre of the deck with his left arm outstretched.

"Okay! Whatever happens from now on, this left arm is proof of our friendship," The captain grinned as the rest of his crew, including the normally dark and melancholic Naruto, joined in with him, "now… let's get onto dry land!"

 **Nanohana**

The crew docked successfully and one by one each crewmate set off on their own adventure, with the agreement to meet back as soon as they had restocked on whatever supplements they needed. With his captain running off in search of a restaurant and the rest of the crew off on their own adventure, Naruto was left by his lonesome walking through the port town, not for anything in particular, simply for the sake of getting off the ship.

The blond pirate strolled lazily within the confinements of the town before he stumbled upon something very interesting. In front of him was the ruins of an unknown establishment that, by the looks of things, people were working on to resurrect as quickly as possible.

"Excuse me," Naruto looked down to see a young boy, around five or six years old, staring at him with watery eyes, "do you know where my mum is?"

"No idea," Naruto shrugged, "maybe she abandoned you, who knows?"

"W-what!?" The kid cried out, tears flowing down his face like a waterfall.

"Don't say that!" Out of seemingly nowhere, the assumed mother of the child ran and scooped up the crying boy and cradled him in her arms.

"Oh, hey there." The first mate greeted the woman.

"Shush!" The woman spat at the pirate before she turned back to her child, "Don't worry, don't worry. I'm here now, there's no need to worry. And even if you couldn't find me, the Marine Captain is here, so he'd be able to help you."

"Oh… that's great," Naruto sighed sarcastically, "knowing Luffy, he's probably already gotten himself in some sort of trouble."

"You should say the same for yourself!" Naruto turned behind him to see the same swordswoman that Zoro had met during their time at Loguetown, Tashigi. Behind her stood several marine officers, "Naruto Uzumaki, infamous pirate of the East Blue, you are under arrest!"

"I think you need to learn how to do your job." Naruto responded calmly, while at the same time wondering how she had learnt of his surname as he did not remember telling anyone. The surrounding townspeople began edging away, anticipating the upcoming battle.

"What'd you mean!?" Tashigi demanded.

"You're only meant to say that someone is under arrest once you've captured them," Naruto explained, "you haven't captured me."

"But you will be!" The swordswoman yelled back.

"Stop shouting." The pirate requested, much to the surprise of the marine officers.

"W-what?" Tashigi questioned.

"Stop shouting," Naruto repeated, "I know what you're trying to do."

"What I'm trying to do?" Tashigi questioned.

"You're trying to hide your insecurities and fear under an aggressive façade," Naruto explained, shocking the swordswoman, "you're also hoping that your compatriots listen to your orders, and you feel like you're not ready to lead a group of people," There was nothing but silence between the wanted pirate and the so-called 'courageous' marine officers, "judging from your silence I guess I'm right."

"S-shut up!" Tashigi shouted even louder as she rushed towards Naruto, gripping her sword tightly.

"I was just trying to do this reasonably." Naruto sighed as he prepared for battle.

 **Spice Bean Restaurant**

Outside one of the many popular restaurants in Nanohana stood a large crowd, eager to peer through its windows. One of these people happened to be the same Marine Captain that had encountered the Straw Hat Pirates earlier in their journey, Smoker.

"That shop's especially noisy… what happened?" Questioned the large man, smoking on two cigars at once.

"Someone appears to have died while conversing with the owner of the shop," One of the townsfolk explained, "he appears to be a traveller. Everyone thinks he may have accidentally eaten a 'desert strawberry'."

"Desert strawberry?" Smoker raised an eyebrow.

"A poisonous spider that looks like a red strawberry. If you unwittingly eat it, you suddenly die a few days later. A number of hours after that… the body spreads an infectious poison," The townsperson explained, "so nobody has approached him. In the desert, what you don't know can kill you."

Inside the restaurant the so-called dead man was sitting on one of the stools with his head buried in his food with multiple empty plates stacked up next to him. He wore black boots, black knee-length shorts with an eyelet-studded orange belt, and a blue pouch belted around his left leg. He also wore a short second belt with a large 'A' on the silver buckle over his right hip, but left it unfastened and threaded the free end along the back of his shorts. On his left arm, the man wore a Log Pose and a red and white striped bracelet around his wrist, an orange elbow guard and a tattoo of the letters 'ASCE' with the 'S' crossed out. He wore a red beaded necklace and an orange hat with two blue smileys, one frowning and one smiling, and a string of red beads sitting above the rim. Two long orange side straps hung down the sides of his hat and met at a large medallion of a bull's skull with orange tassels. The most significant thing about the man's appearance however, due to him not wearing a shirt, was the large tattoo of a crossbones, one of them being vertical and the other being horizontal, and a skull with a tusk-like moustache.

"Look at the arm holding the fork," One of the observers pointed out how the man was holding the fork straight up despite apparently being dead, "they say it's the strength of the poison in the 'desert strawberry'."

"Pwah!?" Suddenly the man burst up.

"Ahh! He came back to life!" The people screamed.

"Huh?" The man, who was thought to be dead, looked around, confused as to what had happened.

"A-are you okay?" A woman approached him.

"Mmph." The man wiped his dirty mouth on the woman's dress.

"Kyaa!" The woman cried

"Wheww… damn. I fell asleep." He stated.

"You fell asleep!? In the middle of a meal and conversation!?" The restaurant goers exclaimed.

"Jeez, what are you guys so worked up about?" The man questioned.

"We were worried about you!" The people shouted.

"You guys hire comedians or something?" The man asked the restaurant owner as he started chewing on some more food.

"No… well anyways, I'm glad you're okay." The owner sighed.

"Oh, by the way, pops." The tattooed man held up the two wanted posters of Naruto and Luffy.

"What is it?" The owner asked.

"Have these guys come into town?" The man asked, "One wearing a straw-hat and the other being pretty moody."

"I guess you don't have a problem with eating in full public," From the entrance of the establishment stood the menacing figure of Smoker, "now what does the commander of the 'Whitebeard Pirate Crew Second Division' want in this country? Well, Portgas D. Ace?"

"W-Whitebeard!? One of the Whitebeard Pirates!?" The townsfolk were immediately sent into a frenzy, "I knew I'd seen that mark on his back before! Why is he here!?"

"I'm on a search for my little brother," The man, now identified as a member of the Whitebeard Pirates proclaimed, "so? What should I do?"

"Sit tight and let me arrest you." Smoker demanded.

"Sorry, no can do." Ace grinned cheekily.

"I'm looking for a different pirate," Smoker began, "and I'm not really interested in you."

"Then let me go." Ace requested.

"I can't do that," The marine captain stated, "as long as I'm a marine and you're a pirate!"

"What a dumb reason," The Whitebeard Pirate laughed, "chill out, man."

" **Gomu Gomu no…** " In the distance, they could hear faint sounds.

"Huh?" The owner raised an eyebrow.

" **Rocket!** " Out of seemingly nowhere, the straw-hatted pirate that Ace was asking the restaurant owner about burst off the hinges of the entrance door and slammed into Smoker.

"Gwahh!" Smoker shouted.

"Huh!?" Ace exclaimed, astonished as the Marine Captain was flung into him and was sent smashing straight through the wall of the food-bearing establishment and into the house behind them

"A restaurant! I'm starving!" Luffy exclaimed with the people around him shocked, "Hey, guy! Food! Food! Food!"

"But, kid… you should run away…" The restaurant owner told the pirate captain.

"Whatever, food!" Luffy demanded.

"O-okay." The owner responded, still in a state of astonishment. As the food was being brought out to Luffy, the mouth of the pirate captain began watering.

"Mmmmmm!" Luffy exclaimed happily as he bit into some of the great food that was open for him, "What a great restaurant!" Meanwhile, Ace slowly rose up from the wreckage and rubble.

"Dammit, who the hell was that!?" The pirate shouted, he looked around and noticed that he was standing in the middle of an elderly woman's house, with her currently eating what was meant to be a 'quiet lunch', "My apologies for disrupting your meal," Ace started trudging back over to the restaurant, "gimme a break…" It was at this point, that he saw something that he had been hoping to see for over ten years, "Hey! Lu-" Before he could continue his greeting to his younger brother, Smoker erupted from the wreckage and pushed over the Whitebeard pirate.

"Straw Hat!" The Marine Captain shouted while the rubber man continued shoving food down his mouth, "So you're here, too…" Luffy continued to chomp down on whatever was in front of him, "stop eating already!"

"You're that smokey guy!" Luffy shouted as he suddenly realised who it was standing in front of him, "What the hell are you doing here!? Thanks for the food!" Luffy then, with his stretched arms, gathered up all the food that had been made for him and consumed it all in one big gulp before he began sprinting out of the restaurant.

"Wait!" Smoker demanded.

"Damn, my attacks don't work against him. No choice but to run away!" Luffy reasoned while he was fleeing from trouble.

"Crap!" Ace cursed, "Wait, Luffy it's me!"

 **With Naruto**

"Ah!" Tashigi exclaimed as she swung her blade at the figure of the young blond pirate, only for him to seemingly disappear and then reappear behind her. The swordswoman dropped her sword on the ground and started panting heavily, before dropping to one knee from exhaustion.

"T-Tashigi…" The marine soldiers stood in shock. One of the most powerful swordswoman of all the marines was on her knees, sweating and panting so profusely while a kid, so much younger than her, stood up confidently without even breaking a sweat. But the thing that was so astonishing was that Naruto hadn't even attempted to hit Tashigi, he was just avoiding her.

"Why… why won't you… try to hit me?" Tashigi questioned, "I-is it… because I'm a woman!?"

"No." Naruto replied in a nonchalant manner.

"Then what is it!?" Tashigi yelled out in anger.

"It's because you're not worth wasting my energy on," Naruto explained, "but then again, I do have to thank you, because if I didn't meet you here I would've probably been wandering around here without a clue as to what to do."

"Ahh!" Tashigi cried with anger as she jumped up once more and rushed at the blond pirate with her remaining strength and resolve.

"Why do you keep doing this?" Naruto sighed before he simply sidestepped out of the way of the incoming blade.

"Rah!" The woman shouted her battle cry before she swiped at the blond pirate, however, before the blade made contact with the torso of Naruto, the young pirate gripped the blade of the sword in his palm, "Huh?"

"What're you doing?" Naruto asked, as his blood began to drip from his palm.

"What?" Tashigi questioned.

"You're not doing anything that'll hurt me," Naruto told the woman, "you're doing the same thing that you've been doing from the start, and look at where it's gotten you," There was a silence between the two, "you're not going to get anywhere if you don't have a bit of creativity when you're fighting."

"Naruto!" The blond pirate turned to see Sanji, wearing a blue jacket-like attire suited for the desert in addition to orange sunglasses along with Nami and Vivi, both of whom were wearing dancer-like outfits which consisted of a blue and purple halter top with a pink shroud and a long white skirt with the top part blue, "What are you doing!?"

"Fighting… well not really." Naruto stated.

"Get your hands off her!" Sanji demanded, being the chivalrous man that he wants to be.

"Whatever." Naruto let go of the sword, which henceforth caused Tashigi to collapse from exhaustion, as it turned out, Naruto was, by gripping onto the sword, preventing the swordswoman from collapsing. The first mate then started walking over to the rest of his crewmates.

"Oi! Stop right there!" The marines began to approach them, "Don't think you can just insult us and get away with it!"

"That's exactly what I think," Naruto told them, "what are you gonna do? You should know your place. You're just grunts of a corrupt organisation, you don't make a difference, you're worthless."

"Gahh!" In protest, several turbulent marine soldiers burst out from the crowd and held their swords back in preparation for a big hit.

" **Akuma no Yoru**." Naruto stated as he stared down the marines with his eyes turning red before they immediately switched back to blue.

"Gah!" Suddenly, the marines began foaming at the mouth before they fell to the ground unconscious. Naruto then walked over and looked at Vivi.

"I didn't know you were a dancer." The first mate commented on her dress.

"I know…" The princess blushed, "Sanji picked it out for me."

"Of course," Naruto responded, "but anyway, what're we gonna do now?"

"Well, I've collected up the materials to make a journey through the Alabastan desert." Vivi explained.

"Where are we going Vivi?" Nami asked.

"Well, first and foremost, I want to stop the rebellion! We don't know when they might rise up and cause needless bloodshed," The princess explained, "and the base of the rebellion, where the leader lives is an oasis town called Yuba."

"Hey guys." The crew turned to see the trio of Chopper, Usopp and Zoro approaching them, all of whom wearing new clothes that would help them protect themselves from the desert heat. Zoro adopted an orange keffiyeh with a gold chain on his head, a long-sleeved white coat with black lines all over it, and the bottom of his black trousers were torn above his ankles. Chopper decided to go with a shirt with a green-lined shirt with a larger one with giant sleeves that was lit blue with dark blue liners to go over it. Usopp made the choice to keep it minimalistic, with only getting a grey coat and a scarf that went over his head.

"Even if you guys are camouflaged not to look like pirates, compared to the girls, you still look like bandits!" Sanji exclaimed.

"How are you any different?" Zoro questioned.

"Ugh… my nose is going to fall off." Chopper complained as he held his nose in pain.

"Your nose be sensitive, Nanohana is famous for its perfume." Vivi told the reindeer.

"Perfume?" Chopper questioned.

"There's are extremely powerful ingredient in it." Vivi explained.

"Like this?" Nami sprayed some perfume that she had recently bought on her.

"Ahhh! Stop it, stop it!" Chopper shouted in protest.

"Ahhh, I'll fall in love all the way to the gates of hell!" Sanji swooned.

"Can you get any dumber?" Zoro muttered.

"What!?" Sanji yelled.

"Oi, everyone shut up." Nauto suddenly opened up, surprising the crew.

"What?" Usopp questioned.

"Just shut up." The first mate repeated, to which everyone obeyed. In the silence, the crew could hear footsteps that were slowly getting louder and louder, before they started hearing mob-like chants.

"Don't let him get away!" The marines were shouting.

"Sheesh, what a ruckus... did they find a pirate or something?" Zoro wondered, that was, before he saw his captain running as fast as he could away from an angry mob of marines.

' _Not you!'_ The crew shouted internally.

"Hey! Zoro!" Luffy yelled out to his crew.

"What the!? Don't tell them where we are!" The swordsman exclaimed.

"There's the Straw Hat Pirates!" The marines, who hadn't been with Tashigi when they were knocked out, yelled as they ran over to the pirates.

"Oh! You're all here!" Luffy grinned.

"You're not getting away!" Smoker announced as he shot a dense cloud of smoke from his arms towards the rubber man, " **White Blow!** "

" **Kagero!** " Before the smoke could reach Luffy, a stream of fire cancelled out the incoming attack. Out of the fire stood the figure of Portgas D. Ace.

"What do you want?" Smoker questioned, annoyed that he had been interrupted from capturing the rubber pirate that had caused him to enter the Grand Line.

"Cut it out," Ace told the smoke man with a sense of authority, "you may be smoke, but I'm fire. Your powers don't stand a chance against mine."

"Who is that!?" The crew exclaimed.

"Ace!?" Naruto and Luffy both stood wide eyed.

"You haven't changed a bit Luffy," The fire man grinned, "you too Naruto."

"You guys know him!?" Chopper exclaimed.

"Well, we can't talk like this. You guys run, I'll catch up to you," Ace instructed the Straw Hat Pirates, "I need to stay here and stop these guys for you."

"Don't think you can just ignore me!" Smoker sent a burst of smoke from his arm toward the escaping pirates, only for it to be blocked by a stream of fire.

"Quick, get on the ship!" Vivi ordered.

"Get on the ship!?" Usopp questioned, "Are we leaving this island!? Vivi!?"

"Vivi?" Smoker raised an eyebrow.

"No, we're going up the river on the ship, then into the desert!" The princess explained, "We only came to Nanhona to get crucial supplies!"

"Hurry, hurry, the marines are coming!" The sniper yelled.

"Get on and raise the anchor!" Sanji told the crew.

"Man!" Luffy exclaimed, "I never thought I'd meet Ace here!"

"Luffy! Get on already!" Zoro shouted from the deck of the ship.

"Oh, yeah." The straw hat-wearing captain nodded as he jumped onto the Going Merry.

"Wait, Carue!" Vivi stopped the spot-billed duck, "I have an extremely important job that only you can do!"

"Quack!?" The duck quacked in confusion.

"Go north to Alubarna and give this letter to my father!" The blue-haired princess handed a letter and placed it underneath his blue chullo, "This is Crocodile and Baroque Works' conspiracy Igaram and I researched, everything's spelled out plain and clear. And tell him I'm alive and in Alabasta, with a group of strong-willed friends. Can you do that? You have to cross the desert alone."

"Quack!" Carue nodded with pride.

"Okay? Conserve your water in the desert," Vivi reminded, "now, go tell my father! We can save this country!"

"Quack!" The proud duck of the princess of Alabasta let out a loud quack before it set off on his venture throughout the desert.

"Vivi, get on, we're leaving now." Naruto told the princess impatiently, to which she obeyed, allowing for the crew to start sailing.

"So Luffy, how do you know that guy back there?" Nami asked.

"He's my brother." Luffy replied with a grin.

"Brother!?" The crew let out a unanimous cry, "That guy back there was your brother!?"

"Yup, he's my brother." Luffy repeated, very proud of that fact.

"Well, I'm not surprised you have a brother. But why is he here in the Grand Line?" Zoro asked.

"He's a pirate. He's looking for the One Piece," The pirate captain explained, "Ace is three years older than me. So he left the island three years earlier."

"Naruto, how do you know him?" Chopper questioned.

"I met him and Luffy at the same time," The first mate stated, "when I first came to Foosha Village, they were already living together."

"What are the odds of the both of all three of you eating an Akuma no Mi?" Sanji mumbled.

"I know; I was surpised too! Shishishi!" Luffy laughed, "He hasn't eaten one before. Even then, I could never beat him in a fight. Ace is really strong!"

"Not even once? Against a regular human!?" Nami questioned.

"The monster's brother must be one hell of a monster." Usopp sweatdropped.

"Yeah, I always got my ass kicked! Haha!" Luffy let out another laugh, "Naruto on the other hand always beat him! Well, he did at the start, but then Ace ended up whooping his ass as well! But I could beat him now!"

"That's a groundless statement." The ex-pirate hunter stated.

"Just who can you beat?" Suddenly, the figure of Ace leapt up from his raft, alongside the Going Merry, onto the railing.

"Ace!" Luffy shouted with pleasure.

"Yo," The Whitebeard Pirate waved his hand, "hey everyone, thanks for taking care of my brother."

"No kidding." The crew sighed.

"Hopefully Naruto was well-behaved." Ace stated with an underlying message that only Naruto and Luffy understood. 

"Why are you here, Ace?" Naruto asked.

"Huh? Didn't you get my message in Drum?" Ace raised an eyebrow.

"Drum?" Luffy questioned.

"Ah never mind," Ace shrugged, "anyways, I'm glad I saw you. I'm here for a silly little task. I figured I'd try to meet up with you. Luffy… will you come join the 'Whitebeard Pirate Crew'? With your friends, too, of course."

"No way." Luffy told his brother with no hesitation.

"Ahahaha… just thought I'd ask." Ace laughed, already knowing the answer.

"Whitebeard… so the tattoo on your back is real?" Usopp asked.

"Yes, it's my pride and joy. Whitebeard is the greatest pirate I've ever known. I want to make him the pirate king, not you Luffy." Ace stated.

"That's okay! I'll just fight him!" The captain said with an ignorant confidence, to which his brother smiled.

"Why don't you come inside if you want to talk? I'll make some tea." Sanji suggested.

"Oh no, don't worry about me. This'll only take a minute," Ace insisted, "I threw off the marines with my 'Mera Mera' power. Here," Ace tossed a piece of paper to his brother, "I wanted to give this to you."

"Huh?" The rubber man questioned.

"Always keep that with you!" Ace told the straw hat-wearing captain with a sense of brotherly authority.

"It's a piece of paper." Luffy stated, not at all impressed.

"Yup. That paper will let us meet again," The Whitebeard Pirate explained, "don't want it?"

"No… I do!" Luffy nodded several times.

"Having a dumb little brother makes an older brother worry," Ace sighed, "he probably gives you guys lots of trouble, too. Take care of him for me," The crew nodded, "oh yea, before I go. Naruto, I need to talk with you." Ace gestured for him to follow as he jumped off the railing. The first mate walked over to the edge and saw that his captain's brother was standing on a one-man, yellow raft, shaped like a half crescent. Naruto did as he was told and landed on the raft, with the rest of the crew observing them.

"I wonder what they're talking about." Usopp questioned.

"Probably something super secret!" Chopper suggested. Luffy however, remained silent, he had a pretty good idea as to what they were discussing.

"No," Naruto told the Whitebeard pirate, "you already asked us and we said no."

"Yeah, but that was to the others," Ace stated, "this time I'm aiming this directly at you. I'll ask you again, will you join the Whitebeard Pirates?"

"And my answer, again, is no." Naruto answered defiantly.

"Look, the reason I'm asking you this is because Whitebeard can protect you." Ace explained.

"Protect me?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Once the marines figure out about the Kyūbi they're gonna be sending everything they have to get you, you'll have all three Admirals coming after you at once," Ace told the first mate, "once they find out, you're gonna have a bounty that's probably as high as Whitebeard's. But I'm telling you now, if you join the Whitebeard Pirates, you'll be protected from all of this."

"I'll be fine," Naruto insisted, "trust me."

"Huh…" Ace let out a sigh, "to be honest, I kinda already knew what your answer was gonna be. The reason I'm asking you specifically isn't because of me, it's the request of Whitebeard himself."

"What?" Naruto raised an eyebrow, shocked that someone of Whitebeard's stature would even know about him, "Did you tell him about me?"

"No," Ace replied, "I was surprised when he mentioned your name before your wanted poster came out."

"Do any of the other Whitebeard Pirates know about me?" The young blond pirate.

"I don't think so," The Mera Mera no Mi user answerd, "oh yeah, by the way, Whitebeard knows all about the Kyūbi."

"What!?" Naruto exploded, shocking the crew above them, "Why'd you tell him!?"

"I didn't," Ace told him, "he knows much more about it than you. He probably knows more about the topic than anyone else. I suspect that's one of the reasons why he wanted you to join the Whitebeard Pirates."

"Huh?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Most big-name pirates would want to have you on their side because of the power that the Kyūbi possesses, but Whitebeard is different from that," Ace explained, "he treats his crew as a family, I think that he wants you to join him so that he can teach you all he knows about it, and to prevent it from consuming you. But then again, that's just my own speculation," Naruto paused at this, "so, I'll ask you once more, will you join the Whitebeard Pirates?" Naruto was silent.

' _I could join the Whitebeard Pirates and I could learn all about this… I could accomplish my dream… but… but… I can't. I made a promise to Luffy, I can't abandon him for my own personal gain.'_ Naruto thought to himself.

"No," The blond pirate gave his final answer, "I'm a member of the Straw Hat Pirates and that'll never change." Ace smiled.

"Yeah, I assumed that," The Whitebeard Pirate stated, "well, I'm gonna get going now."

Naruto wished his captain's brother well on his journey and jumped back onto the deck of the ship.

"So, what'd you guys talk about?" Nami asked, "Anything juicy?"

"We had an in-depth conversation about what our favourite type of animal was," Naruto said in a sarcastic tone, signalling for the navigator to stop asking about it, it also caused Luffy to raise his eyebrows, before he understood what the true meaning of the discussion was about, "oh yeah, he's leaving now."

"What!? You're leaving already!?" Luffy rushed to the railing and yelled down at the raft below.

"Yeah." His brother responded.

"You can chill out here a little longer! I haven't seen you in so long." Luffy stated.

"I told you, I only came to do that," Ace reminded, "I'm chasing a major criminal right now… he's been calling himself Blackbeard lately. But he originally used to be a member of the Whitebeard Second Corps. My subordinate. He committed the worst possible crime on a pirate ship… 'crewmate killing'. I'm the commander, so I have to finish him off. If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't be back here in this part of the sea. The next time we meet will be at the top."

"No… no way! How could someone that sensible be Luffy's brother!?" Nami exclaimed.

"I was sure he would be as irresponsible as Luffy." The sniper stated.

"What a great guy, cares so much about his brother." Zoro said with admiration.

"Brotherhood is a wonderful thing." Chopper stated with tears in his eyes.

"I don't get it… the sea's a mysterious place." Sanji muttered.

"See ya later!" Luffy waved off his brother. Ace grinned, happy that he had the opportunity to see his brother and Naruto after three years of separation. Ace's grin turned sour when he spotted five Baroque Works ships ahead of him.

"Let's go! We got him outnumbered fifty to one!" The Baroque Works agents shouted from the ships, "Five ships! Get past us if you can, hammer boy!" Ace smirked at their naivety as he jumped off the raft, causing it to travel underwater underneath the five ships. The Whitebeard Pirate manipulated the fire to propel him above the ships, "Wah! He jumped! Shoot him! We win if he falls in the water!" Their hopes were destroyed as the fire man landed on the rising raft, "Damn!" Ace cocked his fist back.

" **Hiken!** " The Whitebeard Pirate turned his fist into flames and launched it as a powerful column of fire towards the five ships, completely demolishing all five ships at once.

"Uwahhhh!" The Baroque Works agent cried in pain.

"Come on, Luffy, Naruto," Ace grinned with hope, "come to the top!"

 **Nanohana**

The remaining marine officers were doing their very best in an attempt to put out the fire that had been spread throughout the port town. Somehow, whether it be down to luck or down to the abilities of the Whitebeard Pirate, the fire had not actually effected any of the establishments throughout the town, it was as if the fire had created a wall, preventing exit from the town.

"Thanks to him, we totally lost sight of the Straw Hat Crew. What should we do, Captain?" A marine officer asked Smoker, who was sitting on a barrel of liquor with two cigars in his mouth, reflecting on the events that just occurred.

"Alabasta is a large place… let them get away and we'll never get them back. Portgas! This is all his fault!" Smoker cursed.

"Smoker! Sorry I'm late!" From his right, Tashigi, who had finally gathered her depleted strength from her encounter with Naruto, "The Straw Hat Crew is-"

"Tashigi, where the hell were you?" Smoker questioned.

"Uh… well-" Tashigi began.

"Well, that's not really important right now," The Marine Captain stated, "what do you think about this? There was a 'Vivi' among the crew."

"Vivi!? Princess Nefeltari Vivi!?" Tashigi exclaimed, "Why would she be with them!?"

"That's what I'm thinking about," Smoker told her, "and also… the one man in this country… that I despise. You know I hate the Shichibukai, don't you?"

"But speaking logically, he's an ally of the marines and the government." The swordswoman stated rationally.

"He was once an extremely clever pirate… not the type to take orders from any government," Smoker recalled, "Tashigi always remember this. No matter how far a pirate goes, he is still a pirate!"

 **Going Merry**

Having departed the port town of Nanohana, and having an encounter with the brother of the Straw Hat Pirate's captain, Portgas D. Ace, the crew was sailing along the river before they were to begin their travel through the desert.

"What did you get from your brother?" Nami asked as she held onto the infamous straw hat that had been given to her by Luffy.

"I don't know. It's a scrap of paper." Luffy shrugged.

"Yeah, it's just paper. It's not a note or anything," Nami wondered, "what does it mean?"

"I dunno, but Ace told me to hold onto it. So I'm gonna hold onto it!" The rubber man declared, "So sew it in there tight!"

"Behind the ribbon... gotcha." Nami nodded as she sewed the piece of paper onto the straw hat, "here you go."

"Thanks, Nami! Now I don't have to worry about it!" Luffy grinned, "I'll never lose it!" 

"Wear this, Luffy!" Vivi came out of the women's room with a bunch of clothes consisting of a dark red robe with three white rings decorated along both sleeves and a light blue wrap to go over ones head.

"Huh!? Why? It's hot." Luffy stated.

"You wear it because it's hot. The desert gets over fifty degrees Celsius. You'll get sunburned if your skin is exposed." Vivi reasoned.

"Why are your clothes so skimpy, then?" The rubber pirate asked.

"We're going to wear coats, too." Nami explained.

"What!? You're going to wear those!?" Sanji cried, unhappy that the clothes that he had handpicked for the girls would be forgotten in place of a more practical but less revealing outfit.

"Oh well, guess I better do it." Luffy shrugged.

"I need to give these to Naruto… but where is he?" Vivi wondered as she looked around the deck with another bunch of clothes in her hands. Unbeknownst to the princess, the blond-haired first mate was lying quietly in his hammock in the men's room.

' _Whitebeard knows about me… well, I doubt he knows about me personally, he probably just knows about how I'm the vessel of the Kyūbi… this is annoying… how do I know that he hasn't told anyone else about me? I can trust Ace, but…'_ Naruto thought to himself, contemplating the events that had just occurred, ' _but he knows more then me about the Kyūbi… wait… there's something that I've been wondering for a while now, and I think that now's the time to start asking questions.'_ Naruto let out a heavy sigh, before entering the subconscious areas of his mind in which the demon fox was visualised.

 _Naruto stepped into the familiar dark-red water surrounded by dark brown walls. He could hear the melodic dripping of the leaky pipes which ran over the walls._

" _Out of all the environments, why does it have to be a sewer?" Naruto sighed. The first mate began walking through the water, which, despite being knee-deep, wasn't giving him any form of resistance. The young pirate initially thought that it was because it was just a figment of his mind, but now that he had grown, and been in this situation many times before, he began thinking that it was due to the chakra distortion throughout the sewer, but that was all just speculation._

 _He chose one pathway to walk through, after many years, he figured out that it didn't matter which pathway he chose to walk down, they would all lead to the same place. The killing intent increased the further he journeyed towards the 'cage'._

" _Does it knows I'm here?" Naruto questioned as he continued walking before he eventually came to the sight of the giant cage with thick bars and the paper seal on the lock. The giant demon fox was certainly a terrible sight to behold, using one of it's nine giant tails to lay against, "Hey."_

" _ **What do you want? You runt."**_ _The Kyūbi asked venomously._

" _I've got a question," Naruto began, "back when we were travelling to Drum Island, you told me that there would be a doctor on that island. How'd you know this?"_

" _ **Does it matter?"**_ _The demon replied, annoyed at the very presence of his vessel,_ _ **"I told you what would be there, and there it was."**_

" _Answer me." The first mate demanded, much more forceful than he was in his actions prior._

" _ **Why should I? You come in here, awakening me from my sleep, demanding things of me which I don't care about at all,"**_ _The fox stated,_ _ **"there's no reason for me to answer you."**_

" _I'm ordering you, as your master, to tell me." Naruto ordered the demon fox, which cited a large, monstrous laugh which emanated from the mouth of the monster._

" _ **Master!? Hahaha! How ridiculous!"**_ _The Kyūbi laughed uncharacteristically,_ _ **"I think that you seriously need to reconsider this 'relationship', you know for a fact that I could destroy you without even moving a muscle."**_

" _No, you're wrong." Naruto smirked._

" _ **Excuse me?"**_ _The fox raised an eyebrow._

 _"Oh, so now you're questioning me! The tables have turned now." Naruto responded with a confidence that the demon fox had never seen before._

" _ **Is this your way of trying to outsmart me? To make you seem as though you are on a higher intellectual pedestal? It won't work. You just need to accept that you will forever be a puppet to my whim."**_ _The Kyūbi stated._

 _"Really? I think we both know that I have the power, I mean, you even said it yourself!" The first mate grinned._

" _ **What?"**_ _The beast raised an eyebrow._

 _"For the longest time I had always wondered why whenever I was in trouble or had received a terrible injury, you would always heal me and help me. In our last discussion you answered that question," Naruto started, "you said that if I die, then you die with me. That's why you had to contact me, that's why you had to get me to a doctor. It's a shame for you though, because that was our plan originally, you could've just let me be, but instead you went ahead and revealed something that I had been curious about for quite some time."_

 _ **"So? What difference does this make?"**_ _The Kyūbi asked._

 _"It means that I have power over you," Naruto stated, "if I wanted to, I could kill you right here, right now."  
_

" _ **How would that work?"**_ _The fox questioned once more. Naruto answered by pulling out a kunai and pointing it towards his throat._

" _Suicide," The pirate said with an emotionless expression, "if you don't answer my question right now, I'll kill myself, in the process killing you."_

 _ **"What!?"**_ _The Kyūbi leapt up and stood on all fours, with his sharp teeth gleaming, initially feeling a mixture of anger and anxiety, but then he was calm,_ _ **"You're forgetting something, you fool. We're inside your mind, this is all a false visualisation. If you kill yourself here, it won't make a difference to your exterior body."**_

" _You don't know that, I doubt that you've ever tried to test your theory, but at the same time, I don't know either. Looks like we're both making a risk," Naruto stated as he brought his kunai closer to his throat, so much so that the tip managed to prick his skin, "you know that I'll do it."_

" _ **Urgh…"**_ _The Kyūbi, for the very first time in over fifteen years, felt outwitted and outthought. He was honestly speechless. He valued his own life over anything, but he knew that if he submitted to his vessels wishes now, he would have to continue doing so for the foreseeable future._

" _You better make that decision quickly." Naruto began drawing blood. The demon fox looked angrily at the kunai with a hunched over back and with his killing intent so potent that it would choke the average man._

" _ **Stop!"**_ _The nine-tailed beast pleaded._

" _Really? Now I've started I might as well go through with it." Naruto smirked._

" _ **Stop it this instant, you foolish child!"**_ _The Kyūbi demanded once more._

" _You better answer my question then." The pirate grinned with superiority._

" _ **It has to do with chakra!"**_ _The beast began, "_ _ **I was able to sense that doctor's chakra! That was how I knew where she was!"**_

" _Oh, how interesting," Naruto smiled as he dropped his kunai into the dark-red water beneath him, dissipating as he did it, "explain."_

 _ **"Chakra can be used to detect targets from a great distance away, as well as differentiate people by using their chakra signature alone,"**_ _The Kyūbi stated, wincing at the fact that he had to submit to a being so much weaker than him,_ _ **"one can even tell when other sensors are using their abilities."**_

 _"Interesting," Naruto nodded along with what the fox was saying, "what is a chakra signature?"_

 _ **"Each person's chakra is different and as such gives off a unique chakra signature, this is what sensors use to detect their targets."**_ _The giant fox explained._

" _Teach me how to do this." Naruto ordered, not wasting any time in getting to his request._

 _ **"You little fucking brat!"**_ _The Kyūbi roared with anger,_ _ **"I would never, either way, I can't, even if I wanted, which I don't."**_

 _"Why?" Naruto questioned._

 __ _ **"Because my chakra and your chakra are so vastly different, the way that I learnt how to sense other people's chakra would be much different to the way that you would have to,"**_ _The fox stated,_ _ **"still, I learnt by myself. Despite how weak and utterly pathetic you are; you should be able to as well."**_

 _"I see," Naruto sighed as he realised that he had already milked all the necessary knowledge that the fox contained, "well, I'll get going now." The blond pirate turned and started walking away with a newly found swagger, partially so as to represent his superiority over the Kyūbi, but mostly just to annoy the beast._

" _ **What a brat!"**_ _The Kyūbi muttered angrily,_ _ **"He's fucking crazy… but then again, it is helpful to have a vessel with some balls."**_

 **On The Deck**

"I can't find him anywhere," Vivi sighed as she dropped the clothes that she had prepared for Naruto, "I wonder what he's doing…"

"Hey! We just rounded the side of the island!" Chopper alerted the crew. Vivi walked over to the railing to gaze off at the island beside them.

"No, this isn't the side of the island, this is the bank of the River Sandora," The princess corrected, before pointing off into the distance towards the other side of the island, "you can see the other side off in the distance, right?"

"Oh, you're right." The reindeer conceded.

"Look, this is a rough map of the area," Vivi revealed a rushed and poorly drawn map, "this is our destination!" She pointed to a town on the map labelled 'Yuba', which was known as the rebel town, "It's called 'Yuba'. We'll cross the Sandora, then head out for it! Yuba is where the leader of the rebellion is."

"So I just have to kick his ass, right!?" Luffy pumped his fist in excitement.

"Would you stop that!? I want to persuade the rebellion not to shed any more blood!" Vivi told the rubber pirate.

"A rebellion of 700,000 people? Will they stop?" Zoro questioned realistically.

"Will… they… stop?" Vivi repeated those words, "We'll discover everything on the way to Yuba… exactly what the Baroque Works has done to this country! Exactly what the Alabastan people have gone through! We can stop this senseless violence! I won't let the Baroque Works do what they want to with my country!"

"Vivi…" Nami and the rest of the crew stood in awe from the princess' declaration.

"I'll make a special desert-crossing lunch for you, Vivi!" Sanji proclaimed as he rushed to the kitchen.

"Whoa! This sounds exciting!" Chopper exclaimed.

"How regal." Naruto stated as he walked onto the deck.

"Oh Naruto! I needed to give you this." Vivi stated as she handed desert-journeying clothes which consisted of the same type of clothes that the rubber pirate captain recieved, except for the colour of the robe being a murky orange.

"Thanks." Naruto accepted the clothes graciously, unlike his captain, he understood the need for them.

"Upa!" Luffy cheered with a wide grin.

"Yuba." The blue-haired princess corrected.

"Yuba!" Luffy cheered even louder.

 **Rainbase**

In one of the higher floors of the well-known casino of Rainbase known as 'Rain Dinners', where many people would come in and leave with either a bucket load of cash, or a serious debt and worrisome future, Crocodile was looking out one of the windows, looking down on the many people that thrived despite the conditions of the drought.

"Well… that was inconvenient…" Crocodile sighed as he brushed some sand off his coat, "the 'plan' will begin at seven in the morning, two days from now. Have you made all the arrangements?" Behind him, sitting in a luxurious chair, was Ms. All-Sunday, drinking a glass of wine.

"Yes I have… 150 of the Billions are on standby in Nanohana. I called back Mr. 2 as well, it seems as though Mr. 3 wasn't caught," The woman informed the Shichibukai, "all of the officer agents will be meeting at Spiders Café, eight o'clock, tonight."

"Hmm… that's fine." Crocodile stated.

"It's past five already, I suppose they're probably arriving now," Ms. All-Sunday assumed, "I wonder… will we have to use it?"

"Probably not, but I'm not sure," Crocodile sighed in annoyance, "it can be our ally and our enemy at the same time… it sure is an annoyance."

 **Spiders Café**

In the middle of the hot Alabastan desert stood a small café with a large water tank beside it. One would think that it would be a terrible business decision to start an establishment so far away from civilization, however, in actuality, it was quite the contrary. For the friendly exterior was simply a façade for the truly malevolent activities occurring inside, this was the Baroque Works headquarters.

Inside the café, was a woman wearing yellow crystal square glasses and a diamond-patterned bandanna that combined a variety of pink, turquoise, white and purple ones. She also wore a tank-top, purple in colour, with pink embroideries drawn across it and green ornaments that resembled some kind of bush representations. She wore dark brown low-riding pants, platform sandals, and has her long, dark blue hair tied back in a ponytail. She sat alone, reading her newspaper and listening to a vinyl record.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah merry Christmas! Merry Christmas! I'm tired!" Abruptly, two strange-looking people entered the café. One of which was a stout, middle-aged woman with red hair, she resembled a mole. She wore a necktie that resembled a Christmas tree. She had a large pair of purple-lensed sunglasses and sandals. Her most notable feature was the basket that was strapped to her back. The other, was a rather tall and fat man, he had big lips and wore a green shirt that covered most of his body with black pants and grey running shoes with an obscure 'four' design on his shirt, he also carried a large baseball bat over his back.

"Long trip! Tired! Hip! Hurts! And it's all your fault, Mr. 4!" The woman complained, "Your lagging goes to my hip! You dummy!"

"I'm sorry." The big lipped man, known as Mr. 4, apologised.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. How's business, Paula?" The woman asked, "Your place looks empty today. Empty place!"

"Hahaha… long time no see, Miss Merry Christmas and Mr. 4," The woman, now identified as Paula greeted the two members of Baroque Works, "the place is reserved for you guys today. And you want… an orange pekoe… and does some apple tea sound good to you, Mr. 4?" Paula went to work preparing them their drinks.

"Don't make it hot! I wanna drink it right away!" Miss Merry Christmas demanded, "Now, come on! Come on!"

"My, you're lively. How's work going for you?" The caretaker for Spiders Café asked.

"You screw up, you die. Sounds perfect to me!" Miss Merry Christmas grinned as she gulped down the pekoe that had been made for her, "Huh? When'd you start playin' weird songs in here?" The trio began to hear a strange form of music waft through the café.

"Song?" Paula raised an eyebrow, "No, I'm playing a sonata. Not a song." As they listened in closely, they could hear that the noise was actually coming from outside the café. Outside, there was a single file line of okamas prancing towards the café on tip toes, all of them singing different songs, with Mr. 2 leading them all.

"In this world, there are men and women! But okama is a man and a woman!" Mr. 2 declared through song, "Therefore! Strongest! Okama! Strongest! Okama! Strongest! Okama Way!" When they reached the entrance door of the establishment, Mr. 2 kicked open the door, "Well, I feel super! How about you!?"

"You look stupid to me." Paula sweatdropped.

"No I am not stupid, Paula!" Mr. 2 rebutted, "Why? Because I am an okama!? Gimme a takopa!"

"Takopa?" Paula raised an eyebrow.

"Stop joking around! An octopus parfait! Hello? Gahahaha!" The okama laughed flamboyantly as he saluted to his subordinate okamas, "Okay, lovies, you can go now."

"Yes, sir!" They all saluted back.

"Don't forget your dance practice!" Mr. 2 reminded as the rest of the okamas began dancing away.

"Yes, sir!" They called out into the distance.

"Oh! Is that fatty and toots?" Mr. 2 questioned as he noticed the other two Baroque Works agents in the room.

"Shut up! your shouting is killin' my hip, Bon Clay." The mole-looking woman ordered.

"Oh, that's right! Even the Mr. 1 pair will be here," Mr. 2 began talking to Paula, completely ignoring the others, "I'm so excited. I've never met them before!"

"Don't you think everyone will be afraid?" Paula questioned.

"I don't care!" Bon Clay exclaimed in his usually positive manner. The four of them remained in the café, patiently waiting for the meeting to officially start, they could see the sun begin setting, allowing for the moon to come out and enlighten the dusty desert, "Ahh, it's nighttime now. It'll be eight o'clock soon!? Ahh, I'm bored," The okama complained, "maybe I'll just spin. Yes, I think I'll spin." Mr. 2, as he said, began spinning in a ballet manner.

"Fwahhh!" Mr. 4 laughed boisterously.

"Stop that, okama! It hurts to watch!" Miss Merry Christmass shouted.

"What was that toots!? You wanna fight me!?" Mr. 2 yelled at the mole-looking woman.

"Only if you want!" She replied with the same intensity.

"Stop it, you two!" Paula pleaded. Just as the clock hit eight, the door was burst apart with the unconscious bodies of all the okamas that had travelled to the café with Mr. 2.

"My lovies! What's wrong!? Why did you just jump through the door!?" Bon Clay questioned, not understanding the situation.

"What… you know them, you okama freak?" From the would-be entrance stood a tanned, tall man with long, thin limbs and fingers. He was very muscular and had a shaven head. He sported an oriental-looking attire consisting of a sleeveless dark coat with golden edges and white motifs on the front, over very loose beige pants held up by a white sash around the waist, with some light brown fur sprouting from it. His pants were tucked inside some bandages wrapped around his calves and in part around his shoes. He had big lips and a black unibrow over his round eyes, however, his most striking feature was the archaic Japanese symbol of the number 'one' tattooed on his chest, this man was known as Mr. 1, the most powerful Officer Agent, "They were making suspicious movements out in the desert. Don't worry, they're not dead. You seem to be getting along well… but ridiculous relationships only bring destruction."

"They're my subordinates!" Mr. 2 yelled angrily as he rushed at the large man.

"Quit it, Mr. 2!" Miss Merry Christmas demanded.

" **Hakucho Arabesque!** " Bon Clay began swinging a deadly combination of kicks and punches, to which Mr. 1 skilfully evaded.

"Ngh!" The shaved-headed man groaned as he swung a punch at the okama, only for him to duck.

"Oraaa!" Mr. 2 was about to land a powerful kick to the chest of Mr. 1 before he managed to block the blow. The force of the block caused both people to go flying in the opposite direction. However, for Bon Clayi, he landed on the other side of the café, his flight having been stopped by the hard oak wall of the establishment, but for Mr. 1 on the other hand, he went straight through the opposite wall.

"What the!? He slipped through the wall!" Miss Merry Christmas cried before she noticed that there was a perfect circle at the same area of the wall that Mr. 1 had been sent out of, "No wait, did he break it!?"

"Grrh…" The shaved-headed man gritted his teeth as he stood up from outside the café, flexing his muscles, "I think you have a death wish…"

"Wait, Mr. 1! That's enough!" Paula declared as she ran from the café, which, at the rate that things were going at the moment, would be destroyed.

"Don't stop me Miss Double-Finger. I'm going to kill him!" Mr. 1 told her angrily.

"Get off me, fatty!" From just outside the café, Mr. 4 sat on top of the okama, preventing him from attacking the other Officer Agent.

"Control your anger, Mr. 2!" Paula, now known by the alias, Miss Double-Finger, "It's eight o'clock… all the agents that will be here are here already. We're heading to the city of dreams 'Rainbase'. The man we call 'boss', the one who's never showed his face is waiting there."

 **With the Straw Hat Pirates**

"We made it! Yuba!" Luffy announced as he stepped off the ship onto the hot, desert sand. Following him, the rest of the crew, having docked the Going Merry, departed the ship and looked upon the town in front of them, however, the town that was supposed to be an oasis village ended up being a run-down, deserted town, "Wait a minute… there's nothing here! Let's look for the leader! Where is he!?"

"No, Luffy, this isn't Yuba yet," Vivi told the rubber pirate, "we still have to walk north-west through the desert for half a day."

"Half a day!?" Usopp yelled.

"We just crossed Sandora River and we just landed her at Erumalu, the 'Green Town'." Vivi explained.

"Green Town?" Luffy raised an eyebrow, "But there's nothing green around here!"

"No, not anymore…" Before Vivi could continue, a small dugong burst out of the water.

"Whoa, what the hell is that, a turtle!?" The sniper questioned.

"Kuo!" The marine animal exclaimed.

"A seal!?" Usopp cried.

"A Kung-Fu Dugong!" Vivi announced.

"Kung-Fu?" Usopp questioned.

"No, Usopp, get away from it!" The princess warned. Before the dugong was able to launch one of it's ferocious attacks upon the long-nosed pirates, Naruto appeared quickly in between both of them and smacked the marine animal away, "Don't beat them, either!"

"What'd you want me to do?" Naruto asked.

"Let him take the hit." Nami stated expressionless.

"What!? Do you want me to die!?" Usopp shouted, to which the navigator shrugged. As Naruto was turning around, he heard a small groan from the dugong which he had just struck. He looked back down at it to see it bowing towards him.

"Huh?" The first mate raised an eyebrow.

"It's Kung-Fu Dugong law that the loser of the fight becomes the winner's student." Vivi informed.

"They're martial artists, then." Zoro stated.

"Whatever." Naruto shrugged as he began walking to collect some of the water for the journey before he felt a tug on his pants.

"Kuo!" The dugong exclaimed as he got in a fighting stance.

"What'd you want?" Naruto questioned.

"They need you to teach them." The blue-haired princess explained.

"Teach?" The blond pirate raised an eyebrow, "Uh… okay then," He knelt down so that he was at eye-level with the animal, "I want you to become the strongest dugong ever, that's what you will do as my student."

"Kuo!" The Kung-Fu Dugong nodded as he jumped back into the river.

"Now, let's go to Yuba!" Luffy cheered as the Straw Hat Pirates began their venture through the desert.

"The dugongs in this country are pretty weird, Vivi. They live in the river?" Sanji questioned.

"No, the ocean," Vivi stated, much to the confusion of the crew, "ever since ancient times the Sandora River has sustained this country. But lately, the river has lost the force it once had. And now it's being pushed back by the sea, downstream."

"Then the water those dugongs live in is salt water then." The cook realised.

"Yes, can't use it on fields or drink it." Vivi stated.

"Is that why this village dried up?" Zoro asked.

"No. They collected water on the rare occasions when it rained and the town survived off of that, most of the time," Vivi explained, "up until recently, this town was a lively place, full of green plants."

"This place?" The swordsman raised an eyebrow as he looked around the barren town.

"However, in the past three years not a single drop of rain has fallen in this entire country." The princess told the crew.

"Is that port town going to be okay?" Chopper asked.

"Nanohana gets its water supply from the oasis at Katorea, so they're safe," Vivi reassured the reindeer, 'even in Alabasta, no rainfall has never been something to worry about for thousands of years. But there was always one place that got more rain than anywhere else, the capital 'Alubarna'. The city built around the king's palace. People called it the 'King's Miracle'. At least they did until two years ago."

"What happened two years ago?" Nami asked.

"A group of people were transporting two large sacks of 'sand', or so the people thought initially, which confused them at first, but they went along with it, however, the two sacks were cut open and their contents spilled onto the ground," The princess stated, "what was actually inside those sacks was something known as 'Dance Powder'."

"Dance Powder?" Nami raised an eyebrow.

"Yes." Vivi confirmed.

"Hey, you know what that is?" The straw-hat wearing pirate asked his navigator.

"It's also known as 'powder that calls rain'." Nami stated.

"Powder that calls rain?" Luffy questioned, confused.

"It was created by some country with no rain, long ago," The orange-haired woman began, "the powder emits a mist-like smoke that rises up into the air. It speeds up the creation of ice particles in sub-freezing temperature clouds and causes rainfall. Basically, it's a powder that makes artificial rain."

"Ah, so it's a mystery powder." Luffy nodded.

"Huh? So that would make it perfect for this place, right?" Usopp asked.

"Originally, yes. The people who created it called it Dance Powder because it made them dance with joy, but there was a large pitfall to all this," Nami explained, "it caused droughts to countries downwind! Artifical rain is the process of nurturing clouds that aren't ready to rain yet. It sucks the water out of clouds."

"So effectively, they steal rain from clouds that would mature over neighbouring countries." Naruto stated, comprehending the concept of Dance Powder.

"Yes… and it started a huge war. The loss of life was profound," Vivi shuddered at the thought, "since then, the World Governments have outlawed the manufacturing and possession of Dance Powder worldwide."

"A powder that brings happiness and misery at the same time." Zoro mumbled.

"That large shipment of Dance Powder appeared in Nanohana. Soon afterwards, an abnormal weather pattern started, and no rain fell anywhere except for where the king was!" Vivi told the crew.

"Its normal to distrust the king. They must have thought he was using the powder to steal all the rain." Zoro stated.

"Dang, Vivi, your dad is evil!" Luffy shouted.

"He was framed, you idiot!" Sanji yelled with a kick to the head of his captain, "Vivi's father would never do such a thing!"

"Now I realise that Crocodile's terrible plan was already in effect. My father was suddenly surrounded by a scandal he had nothing to do with. Somehow, a large volume of Dance Powder had been brought in to the palace under his nose. It was a trap set up by Crocodile! A rebellion arose just as he planned!" Vivi proclaimed furiously, "Towns dried up, people starved, and an army of furious rebels started a bloody battle with an innocent country! The kingdom's peace… the trust in the Royal Family… the rain… the towns… and even people's lives… were all stolen. And it was done by one man… Crocodile! What right does he have to do those things!? I will never ever let him get away with this!" There was silence amongst the crew as they looked upon the princess of Alabasta kneeling on the ground, her wet tears dampening in the sand.

"You speak too much." Naruto blatantly told the princess.

"What!?" Vivi exploded at the blond pirate, the idea of Crocodile and his maliciousness fresh in her mind.

"You speak too much," Naruto repeated, "you say all this stuff, but have you actually done anything yet?"

"Naruto…" Chopper began.

"You entered Baroque Works to gain all this information but so what? What have you done with it?" Naruto questioned again, "Stop moping and declaring 'oh Crocodile! I hate you, I hate you!' Actually start doing something! We can't waste time crying when there are people that you care about dying!"

"Naruto, you've gone too far!" Sanji yelled at the first mate.

"N-no…" Vivi mumbled as she stood up from the sand and wiped away her tears of pain, "h-he's right… l-let's go…" Without another word, she began walking off, further into the desert, with the remaining members of the crew watching her.

"C'mon, let's go," Luffy ordered the crew, "I'm anxious now."

The crew continued on, walking out of the barren town of Erumala, the town which once boasted the lively, green plants which Vivi spoke about so fondly. With their destination on the horizon, the pirates journeyed bravely and confidently, despite the pounding heat and the fatigue setting in.

"Aahh…" Luffy moaned.

"Would you stop going moaning already, Luffy!?" Nami requested, "You're just wasting energy."

"Aahh… I'm burning…" The rubber man groaned once more, "can't even sweat…"

"I can't stand the heat… but I'm fine in the cold…" Chopper wheezed out, being carried on the back of Zoro.

"It's cause you're all fuzzy," Usopp told the reindeer, "why don't you take that costume off?"

"Don't mess with a reindeer, punk!" Chopper retorted.

"Don't shout! I'll put you down otherwise!" Zoro warned. Sanji observed the crew, and noticed how all of them were struggling from the intense heat, all except for Vivi and Naruto.

"You don't seem to mind the heat, Vivi." The cook stated.

"I grew up here, so I'm fine, more or less." Vivi explained.

"Why aren't you feeling the heat? Naruto?" Sanji questioned the other blond pirate.

"I dunno." Naruto shrugged, truth be told, he was being completely honest. Ever since he was young the change in temperature never effected him too badly, he suspected it was due to the influence of the Kyūbi on his body.

"Why are there so many damn hills?" Sanji questioned once more, "It's like we're climbing a mountain."

"This is an ancient desert. The largest dunes are over 300 metres tall." Vivi explained.

"300!? No wonder it seems like a mountain…" The sniper mumbled to himself. Whilst the princess of the land was giving the crew yet another explanation about the geography of the desert, Naruto was standing at the back of the group, reflecting on the conversation that he had had with the demon fox earlier.

' _Sense chakra… how does that work?'_ Naruto questioned, ' _It said that I needed to sense people's chakra signatures…'_ The first mate closed his eyes and focused on his surroundings with the remaining senses he had. At first he could see nothing but darkness, but eventually he began to see seven extremely faint, ball-looking, blue objects orbiting above the ground. In surprise, Naruto opened his eyes quickly and in place of where the blue objects were hovering above ground, his crewmates were standing.

"So that's how I do it…" Naruto muttered to himself, "I guess if I practice more, those faint orbs will become more clear…"

"Hey Sanji, let's eat lunch. 'Pirate Lunchbox' time." Luffy told the cook.

"Nope, not 'till Vivi says it's okay." Sanji replied.

"Vivi! Let's eat, I'm starving." The pirate captain pleaded with the princess.

"But we're not even a quarter of the way to Yuba yet, Luffy." Vivi told him.

"Jeez, you're dumb. Haven't you heard this proverb?" Luffy questioned, "Eat when thou art hungry."

"You just made that up." Usopp told the captain.

"I understand… why don't we take a break when we reach the next rock?" The blue-haired woman suggested.

"Okay! Next rock…" Luffy looked ahead of him, and no matter how far he looked, he couldn't see anything that looked even remotely to a rock within sight, "rock!?"

They continued their long journey through the hot, sandy desert. The main issue that was bringing the crew down was not the heat. It was the boredom. They had been walking for the past couple of hours and it looked as though they hadn't moved an inch, for the landscape was the same all over the place.

"Heavy…" Luffy groaned as he carried along the bags of items and equipment that the crew needed, "heavy… hot…"

"You lost at janken, so shut up and pull." Zoro told his captain.

"Don't drop it, Luffy!" Sanji reminded his captain.

"All right! Rocks sighted dead ahead!" Usopp alerted the pirates through the use of his sniper goggles.

"Really!?" The rubber pirate burst up, seemingly forgetting all about his fatigue, "Break time!" He then rushed through the sand towards the rocks that his sniper had pointed out.

"Damn, he's fast!" Usopp exclaimed.

"Ahh!" The rubber pirate sighed in relief when he had reached the rock formation, he slumped down on his belly as he gained cover from the blazing sun, "Shade! So nice! Huh?" Luffy turned around and saw several birds wheezing and moaning in the sand, "Oh no!" The pirate dropped the equipment and ran as fast as he could back over to the crew.

"Why's he coming back!?" Sanji raised an eyebrow.

"There's a bunch of dying birds back there!" Luffy informed them, "Come on, Chopper, heal them!"

"O-okay, I'm coming!" The doctor nodded as he ran over to the rock formation.

"Birds!?" VIvi cried out in fear. Naruto raised an eyebrow, confused as to what could've sparked so much frustration and anxiety out of the princess. The crew hurriedly arrived at the rocks, which gave them brief comfort as they were out of the reach of the sun's gaze, however, but gave them permanent pain, as the birds which Luffy had claimed were dying had disappeared, and on top of that, all they're necessities had disappeared as well.

"All our stuff is gone!" The crew cried.

"There were these dying birds here, I swear!" The rubber pirate claimed.

"Warusagi are called the thieves of the desert. They're foot travellers and steal their luggage," Vivi informed the crew, "I should've told you..."

"They were playing injured!?" Usopp shrieked, "They're swindlers!"

"Yes, they're swindlers!" The princess confirmed.

"That was luggage for three days, Luffy!" Sanji exploded at his captain, "How could you let a bunch of birds steal it!? And that was all of our luggage! Without food or water, how are we going to-"

"But I was tricked, I can't help it!" Luffy reasoned.

"You're dumber than a bird!" The cook yelled in frustration.

"What!?" Luffy shouted back with equal intensity.

"Cut it out!" Zoro interrupted the bickering with his voice of reason, "Lets take a rest… you're getting angry because of the heat. Chill out for a minute. We're going to get to Yuba at night, right?"

"Yes." Vivi nodded.

"If it's an oasis, then we'll just have patience. We're not gonna die!" The swordsman proclaimed, "Just forget about this. Thinking about it makes my throat dry up. We'll rest for ten minutes, then leave." Luffy grumpily flopped down onto the sand, just before he was about to close his eyes, he spotted the same group of birds that he had seen earlier, walking away from the rocks with their food and water.

"There they are!" Luffy shouted as he rushed towards them, "Give us back our stuff!"

"Don't follow them, Luffy! How will you get back!?" Nami told her captain.

"Yeah, that would be even worse! Come back, Luffy!" Usopp stated in agreement.

"That moron…" Sanji sighed. There was a small moment of silence as their captain had ran away from them, pursuing the swindlers that had taken their equipment.

"Waaahh!" They heard the cries of Luffy as he rushed back towards the rocks, breaking the silence.

"What is it now!?" Nami questioned. Naruto closed his eyes and began focusing on behind Luffy, as he had done earlier. At first there was nothing, but after a few moments, an extremely faint orb of, what he assumed was chakra, appeared in the distance that was rapidly approaching him.

"Naruto!" He heard the cries of Vivi from behind him, the first mate opened his eyes to see a giant purple lizard directly in front of him with it's jaws wide open. Just before it crunched down on Naruto, he managed to jump backwards, evading the attack.

"Shit!" Naruto muttered angrily.

"Why didn't you move quicker?" The princess asked, worried.

"Trying something out." The blond pirate responded nonchalantly.

"What?" Vivi raised her eyebrow.

' _Looks like I need a lot of work,'_ Naruto thought to himself, ' _I guess right now I can only get the approximate location of the things I'm trying to sense.'_ Naruto looked around to see that Luffy had been running away from the beast, and was running alongside a camel.

"I suppose we should save that camel running beside him…" The cook mumbled.

"What star was I born under that gives me all this damn trouble?" Zoro questioned.

"I've got this." Naruto stated as he walked out in front of the oncoming giant lizard, while putting his hand out in front of him.

"What's he doing?" Chopper raised an eyebrow.

"Grawwr!" The beast roared.

"Get out of the way!" VIvi yelled out in caution, she looked at the other members of the crew, waiting for them to intervene, but noticed that all of them were laying down, not panicking at all, "Aren't you gonna help!?"

"Vivi, I thought you would've understood by now," Zoro began, "you need to trust him, he knows what he's doing, even though it annoys me to say it, he's always one step ahead of everyone."

"What?" Vivi stood, confused by their calmness.

"Grawwr!" The lizard roared once more. When it's head was just an inch away from the open palm of Naruto, running at full speed, the young blond pirate mumbled to himself.

" **Maindo Hakai.** " The second that the giant lizard came in contact with the skin of Naruto, the lizard froze, it's spine straightening intensely, before it dropped dead in the sand.

"I-is it dead?" Vivi wondered.

"Sanji, is this thing edible?" Naruto asked the resident cook.

"Yeah, looks like it." The cook responded as he walked over to the downed beast from the cover of the large rocks.

"Perfect timing." Zoro grinned. Vivi stood, amazed at how non-caring the crew was at the events that just occurred.

"Whoa! Check it out!" Luffy exclaimed as he ripped off a chunk of meat from the lizard and placed it on the hot rocks, the meat began cooking by itself, "These rocks are like nature's frying pans!"

"What's up with the camel?" Zoro questioned.

"Dunno, when I was chasing the birds he came running up," Luffy explained, "then I saw the lizard chasing him, so I started running too." It was a light brown camel that wore a bridle and saddle. His saddle was square shaped, with a fur seat. Under the seat was a purple blanket, with a yellow stripe with an orange cloth on it. It had notable eyelashes on the bottom of his eyes.

"It doesn't look wild. It's got a saddle and everything." Nami pointed out.

"We can ride it! That'll be so nice!" Chopper gleamed.

"Yeah, good thing. I bet two people could ride on it." Luffy stated.

"You really do need camels in the desert." Usopp told the crew.

"Okay, I'll go on first!" Luffy announced as he attempted to hop on the animal, only for it to start shaking and wriggling.

"Vwoo!" The camel belted as it shook the rubber pirate off, "Vwoo! Vwo!"

"Can you translate, Chopper?" Naruto asked.

"Sure," The reindeer nodded before it stood next to the camel, "it's saying 'I am just a passing camel. Thanks for rescuing me. I'll let you ride me, but I won't let any guys ride."

"You stupid punk, who do you think just saved your worthless life!?" Sanji, Usopp and Luffy yelled angrily in unison.

"I'm sorry my bandits are so mean to you," Nami apologised to the perverted camel, "What a good boy. What should I call you?"

"Idiot." Luffy suggested.

"Moron." Sanji stated.

"Dumbass." Usopp chimed.

"Okay, how about 'Eyelashes'?" Nami suggested, to the pleasure of the camel.

"That's worse than the other names." Zoro sweatdropped.

"Get on, Vivi!" Nami told the only other woman.

"No, I'm fine. I can still walk." Vivi insisted.

"It's okay," Nami stated, "now we can get to Yuba a little faster," Reluctantly, the princess hopped on the back of the camel, "let's go, Eyelashes!"

"Wait a minute!" The remaining members of the crew yelled out to the women.

"Hurry up, everyone!" The navigator told the crew, "If you get lost, you'll never make it out of the desert alive!"

"Screw you! You witch!" Zoro cursed the woman with anger.

"Still love you, Nami!" Sanji yelled out to his heartthrob.

"It's a tsunami!" Luffy yelled out, hallucinating.

"Huh!?" Chopper raised an eyebrow, "What is it, Luffy!?"

"Do you think that it could've been that thing!?" Usopp questioned.

"What thing?" Sanji asked.

"When we stopped for the lizard meat, he also ate a cactus over there." Usopp explained.

"I'm drowning!" Luffy shrieked.

"A cactus!?" Chopper cried.

"Yeah, one of those round ones." The sniper stated.

"Oh no, that's a mescal cactus! It causes hallucinations!" Chopper exclaimed.

"What!?" Usopp cried.

"Get ready, everyone, I'm gonna kick your asses!" Luffy announced, " **Gomu Gomu no…** "

"Tranquilizer!" Chopper shouted as he stabbed his captain with the syringe, ending his hallucinations by putting him to sleep.

"Right! Good job, Chopper!" Sanji nodded.

"Look how far away that stupid camel is!" The sniper pointed out into the distance.

"Hurry up, we gotta follow it!" Zoro told the remaining crew. Despite the intense heat, the crew continued their venture towards Yuba by following the rushing camel. On their way they encountered many dangerous animals of the desert. Eventually, the male members of the crew met back up with Nami and Vivi riding the camel as the sun had dipped out of sight and the moon began shining.

"It's night, the temperature is the exact opposite from the daytime." Usopp noted.

"The desert goes below freezing at night." Vivi pointed out.

"Acho!" Luffy sneezed.

"There!" Vivi pointed out a small light in the distance, "Can you see the light!?"

"Did we make it to Yuba!?" Nami questioned.

"I can't tell, there's too much sand blowing around!" Luffy told the navigator. They could feel a tremble beneath them.

"Why is the earth rumbling!?" Vivi questioned, "Something's wrong with the town!" The crew scanned the area in front of them, at first they couldn't see much due to the sand that was blowing in their eyes, but after their eyes had adjusted to the environment, they knew immediately what the cause of both the blowing sand and the rumbling earth was, "A sandstorm! Yuba's being attacked by a sandstorm!"

"We can't go in now!" Naruto told the crew, "If we did, it would be suicide!"

"Naruto, you told me to talk less and act more!" Vivi reminded the first mate.

"There's a difference between acting more and being an idiot!" Naruto shouted, "We need to wait it out!" With terror and fear raging within the blue-haired princess, the crew remained in their position away from the 'oasis' village, just out of reach of the dangerous sandstorm. The sandstorm eventually past after a few minutes, opening up the path to Yuba. The crew rushed into the village to see the aftermath of the disaster. The trees were dead and the sand had been whipped up against the many houses, with several of them being buried completely.

"Impossible…" Vivi gasped with horror.

"Damn! This place isn't any different from Erumalu!" Zoro cursed.

"Where's the water!?" Luffy questioned, his mouth parched from thirst.

"Wasn't this supposed to be an oasis, Vivi!?" Sanji questioned.

"The sand has raised the ground level… the oasis is being swallowed up!" The princess cried.

"Travellers, eh?" Just a bit ahead of them was an elderly man who was skinny to the point of being borderline anorexic. He had a thick, fuzzy moustache and wore a white wrap around his head, and another grey wrap around his forehead. He wore black robes, that were torn in some places, and a green robe underneath with a dark red lining. Under that, he wore a vertically striped black and white shirt, he also had a turquoise sash, with blue dots, "You must be tired from your trip through the desert. I'm afraid this town's a little dried up. But you can still rest, we have plenty of inns, that's what we're known for."

"Excuse me…" Vivi attracted the attention towards her, "we heard that the rebellion was based here…"

"What do you want with the rebellion?" The man's tone immediately turned into a malicious one, "Don't tell me you want to join those filthy rebels! Those fools are not here anymore!"

"What!?" The crew exclaimed.

"No way!" Vivi cried, shocked.

"That storm you just saw wasn't the first to attack the town. The drought has been drying us up for the past three years. The sandstorms have come more and more frequently! The sand has been steadily eating away at the oasis, and now, it is as you see it today," The stranger explained angrily, "without circulation of goods, the rebellion cannot continue their war of endurance. They've moved their base of operations to Katorea."

"Ah!" Vivi gasped.

"Where's that, Vivi? Is it close!?" Luffy asked in a concerned manner.

"It's the oasis next to Nanohana." The princess informed the rubber pirate.

"Nanohana!?" Luffy burst out.

"Hey! Vivi! What did we come here for, then!?" Usopp questioned.

"Vivi!? Did you say… Vivi!?" The man's ears perked.

"Hey mister! Vivi's not a princess, okay!?" Luffy told the elderly man.

"Don't tell him!" Usopp wacked his captain over his head.

"Um… I'm…" The princess began trying to think of a false identity.

"Are you Vivi!? Are you really!?" The skinny man said with a new found optimism, "I'm so glad you're alive! It's me! Don't you remember?" The man held Vivi by her shoulders, "I guess not. I've lost some weight."

"Mr. Toto?" Vivi stood, stunned.

"That's right…" The man, now identified as Toto, smiled with tears forming in his eyes.

"No!" The princess gasped, holding her mouth.

"Toto?" Luffy raised an eyebrow.

"Listen to me, Vivi! I believe in the king! He would never betray our country!" Toto declared, "Isn't that right!? This rebellion is absurd! Please I beg of you! Stop those fools! You're the only one who can do it! It's only been three years. Who cares if it hasn't rained! I believe the king! The majority of the people still do! We've stopped them over and over and over again! But you can't tell them anything… the rebellion will not be stopped. Their power will soon overtake ours. They plan to end this with the next attack! They've caught up to us! They're prepared to die! Please, Vivi… stop those fools, before it's too late!"

"Mr. Toto." Vivi held out a handkerchief for the man who had been brought to tears with his plead for peace.

"Vivi?" Toto graciously accepted the cloth and wiped his eyes.

"We can stop the rebellion!" Vivi claimed, with a false confidence which hid the many concerns she had about the entire ordeal, but nevertheless gave Toto comfort.

"Yes, thank you!" The elderly man bowed to the royal woman.

 **That Night**

After a long, tiring day of travelling, the crew decided to retire for the night in one of the many inns of Yuba.

"Good work today, boys!" Usopp congratulated his crewmates, "Let's take a little rest to replenish our strength for tomorrow. Goodnight!"

"You barely did anything!" Zoro yelled as he threw a pillow at the sniper.

"Whuh!?" Usopp narrowly ducked the incoming projectile, "I did so much! You were the one doing nothing, you jerk! The one who really wasn't doing anything was Chopper!"

"Huh!?" The reindeer gasped, "What'd you mean!?"

"You're the king of the useless, bluenose!" The sniper threw his pillow at the doctor.

"I can't stand the heat!" Chopper stated for the umpteenth time. Vivi, having just entered the inn, walked over to her bed for the night, only to see Sanji laying under the covers.

"Sanji, that's mine." The princess told the perverted cook.

"Yeah, I figured you didn't want to sleep alone tonight." Sanji explained.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!?" Zoro shouted as he grabbed yet another pillow and chucked it with full force at the cook.

"Hey, which one of you jackasses just threw that thing at me!?" Sanji yelled out to the other members of the crew.

"Don't you guys understand the meaning of the word 'sleep'!?" Nami questioned from her bed in the corner of the room. Outside the madness of the inn, Luffy and Naruto were observing Toto dig up the sand from the top of the building.

"Whitebeard knows about me," Naruto told his rubber captain, "well, more so about the Kyūbi."

"Hmm…" The straw-hat wearing pirate pondered the situation with much more nuance and subtlety than many of the other dilemmas that he had encountered so far on his journey, for he knew that this topic was something that had to be handled with caution, "did Ace tell you that?"

"Yeah, apparently Whitebeard wanted me to join his crew for that fact." Naruto stated.

"That's annoying," Luffy sighed, "if he knows about it, there's no saying that other pirates don't know about it as well."

"I know, but that made me think of something," Naruto began, "we need to tell the others about it, soon."

"That's true," Luffy nodded, "it's important that the others know about it, has it been talking to you at all recently?"

"Well, before we got to Drum, it said that there was a doctor on the next island, and then before we began travelling through the desert I talked to it." Naruto explained.

"Okay…" Luffy mumbled to himself, "once we leave Alabasta, you need to tell the others, it's extremely important."

"Yeah." Naruto nodded. He had always made sure to dodge and evade any question regarding this issue for as long as he could remember. He never wanted to have to tell anyone about the living nightmare that he had to deal with ever since he was born.

"Hey mister, there's no water!" Luffy shouted out to Toto, who had continued shovelling through the sand. Naruto was amazed at how quickly his captain could change personality, it wasn't as if he was always hiding his true intentions through a façade or anything like that. He just knew when it was time to completely focus and shut up instead of acting off instinct and gut feelings, "My throats dried up. It must be hard to live here."

"The water will come, the Yuba oasis still lives on," Toto proclaimed as the straw-hat wearing pirate approached him, "Yuba cannot be defeated by mere sand. I'll just dig it away again. This is the land I was given by the king!"

"Hmm… okay, let's dig!" Luffy announced as he began digging the sand away with his bare palms.

"Hey, wait! Don't throw the sand in my hole!" Toto yelled at the rubber pirate.

"Huh?" Luffy raised an eyebrow.

"You said you wanted to dig a hole!" The elderly man reminded.

"Uhh, yeah I am." Luffy stated, unsure of what the man was trying to say.

"No, the sand from your hole is going into mine! That defeats the purpose of digging the hole in the first place!" Toto informed him.

"Oh, so it's a mystery hole." Luffy concluded.

"No, it's not!" Toto replied, continually trying to get it through the head of the pirate to start digging correctly. Nevertheless, they continued all throughout the cold desert night as they attempted to uncover the oasis that had been covered by the dastardly sandstorm. Once it was well past midnight, Toto gazed down the deep hole that Luffy had been digging down, only to see him fast asleep at the bottom of it, to which the elderly man smiled warmly. He stood up and brushed as much sand as he could off his robes. He looked up to see Naruto standing on the outskirts of the village with his eyes closed.

Naruto had been standing for around half an hour while the duo of Toto and Luffy were digging the sand. He had been practising his chakra sensing abilities. From the second that he had discovered the ability, he knew that it could become a very crucial aspect of his skill set in the future. Throughout his training, he had discovered a very fatal flaw within the way in which he was sensing chakra.

' _Whenever I'm sensing chakra, I'm closing my eyes… therefore I can't see what's in front of me, and the chakra that I can see isn't in the exact position, but I assume that'll be improved upon with training,'_ Naruto thought to himself, ' _but still, whenever I close my eyes, and even when I'm keeping my eyes open, I can't see behind me, and I can't sense the chakra that's behind me.'_

"Hmm… maybe I'm doing it wrong?" Naruto wondered out loud.

"Doing what wrong?" Out of seemingly nowhere, the voice of Toto sprung to life behind him.

"Nothing much." Naruto replied in a lazy tone.

"Oh, well never mind then," Toto stated, "but still, I think you should go to sleep now, I mean it's past midnight, everyone needs a rest."

"How far will the rebels go?" Naruto asked out of the blue.

"Huh?" Toto raised an eyebrow.

"How far will the rebels go to achieve their goals?" The first mate questioned.

"They're insane! Those fools would do anything!" Toto stated with anger, "There's no telling how far they could go!"

"You know why they're doing this, right?" Naruto turned to the skinny man.

"Pardon?" Toto questioned.

"They're doing what they're doing out of love for this country." Naruto told him.

"What'd you mean?" Toto asked, confused as to how a mere stranger had an understanding about the mind state of those rebels.

"No one would start a rebellion for no reason," Naruto continued, "from the rebels' perspective, something is wrong with the way that the country that they love is being run, and they want to do something about it. That seems to be a decent explanation for their reasoning, wouldn't you say?"

"Well…" The elderly man began.

"But at the same time it could be something completely different," The first mate interrupted Toto, "someone could've decided to overthrow the king and the royal family for power, but I doubt it. Another alternative to my original hypothesis is that they are being deceived by someone."

"How so?" Toto asked, intrigued by the blond pirate.

"Think about it, according to you, everything was going well until three years ago, that must mean that something happened three years ago to alter the status quo," Naruto explained, "so what happened?"

"The Dance Powder was discovered in Nanohana." Toto answered, to which Naruto shook his head.

"No, no… think broader," The blond pirate stated, "what was something else that occurred around that time, something significant to the people, something that caused a rift within a community."

"Umm…" The skinny man's wondered for a while, before his eyes lit up with an answer, "Crocodile! He came three years ago and said that he would protect some of the country for a profit. Nanohana accepted him immediately, considering that they were the first place that discovered the Dance Powder."

"Now, I'm gonna ask you one more thing," Naruto started, "where was the first place that Crocodile came to?"

"Nanohana!" Toto stated, "H-he must've gone there because he knew they would be the quickest to accept him! And that created a rift within the community as there were some who believed that they should trust the king, but there were others who thought they should trust Crocodile! He must've been the one who planted the Dance Powder!"

"Yes… well, that's what I think at least," The Akuma no Mi user nodded, "but then again, I could be completely wrong, you never know," Toto stood, shocked at the information that he had just uncovered, "anyway, I'm going to sleep, you should as well." The elderly man nodded slowly, before him and Naruto walked over to their accommodation for the night. Unbeknownst to either of them, a small eye and ear had dissipated from the corner of one of the many destroyed buildings.

 **In An Unknown Place**

"Stop joking around!" Mr. 2 shouted from the top of his lungs. He, Mr. 1, Mr. 4, along with Miss Double-Finger and Miss Merry Christmas had been led to the secret headquarters of their boss Mr. 0 by the giant turtle known as Banchi through the desert. They were now waiting at a large dining room with a long table, "How long is he going to make us wait!? At least bring out some takopa! I'm spinning! Spinning like a beautiful swan!"

"Please be quiet, Mr. 2." Miss Double-Finger requested, out of all of them, it was clear that she was the most level headed.

"Seriously, you dummy! Your shoutin' kills my hip!" Miss Merry Christmas yelled.

"You too, Miss Merry Christmas." Miss Double-Finger added.

"Hahaha… looks like you can't all get along… not that it really matters…" From the main hallway leading to the dining room came the figure of Miss All-Sunday.

"Miss All-Sunday." Paula, known as Miss Double-Finger, acknowledged the entrance of the other Baroque Officer agent.

"Oh Sunday, how are you!?" Mr. 2 greeted the woman happily.

"I said shut up, ya dummy!" The mole-looking woman yelled once more.

"Thank you for enduring the long journey to come here. Having all of us together will ensure our victory." Miss All-Sunday stated confidently.

"Where is this?" Mr. 1 questioned, looking around the, clearly, very expensive furniture in the room.

"Oh, that's right, Banchi took you in the back door," The mysterious woman remembered, "you're probably familiar with the town, where people dream of getting rich quick by gambling. The 'City of Dreams' Rainbase. And the the building you are in right now towers above the oasis in the middle of Rainbase. The greatest casino in town, 'Rain Dinners'. If there are no questions, we'll continue."

"Yeah, let's go!" Miss Merry Christmas declared eagerly, "Start. Now. Now. Start."

"But before that, I must introduce the boss you haven't seen yet," Miss All-Sunday started, much to the interest of the other Officer Agents, "until now, I have acted as his 'private face' in giving you orders. But there is no more need to do so, understand?"

"It's about time…" From behind the chair at the head of the table, sand began congregating.

"Wha!?" The Baroque Works agents gasped. Eventually, the sand became solid and formed the intimidating intimidating figure of Crocodile, who casually, with an arrogant swagger, turned the chair around and sat down facing his underlings.

"Plan Utopia. That is the final plan of the Baroque Works." The Shichibukai stated with a grin.

"C-Crocodile!?" They all cried in unison.

"I thought you would recognise his public face." Miss All-Sunday smiled at their discovery.

"Well damn, this is unbelievable!" Miss Merry Christmas shouted, shocked.

"I would never have guessed, why one of the Shichibukai!?" Paula questioned.

"You mean we've been working for a pirate!?" Mr. 2 exclaimed.

"Fwa!" Mr. 4 burst out.

"You are our boss?" Mr. 1 raised his monobrow.

"Any complaints?" Crocodile asked in his typical threatening tone, which silenced all of the issues that any of the agents had with him being their boss.

"No complaints, just a question," Miss Double-Finger began, "why would a pirate sponsored by the World Government do this?"

"What I want is not money or land. It's military force." The Shichibukai revealed.

"Military force?" Mr. 2 questioned.

"Let's talk about this in order. First my objective, then the details of the Baroque Works final plan," Crocodile began, "what I wish to do, in short, is to take over this entire country."

"You mean we can do that here!? We'll take over the entire country!?" Mr. 2 grinned widely, "I'm getting excited!"

"So our last duties are to carry out the different facets of this final plan?" Mr. 1 assumed.

"That is correct. All the jobs you have done since the founding of Baroque Works have been for this plan. And those are the last orders I will entrust you with," Crocodile grinned smugly, "the time to get rid of the kingdom of Alabasta has come. When you have all completed those orders the kingdom of Alabasta will be destroyed! The cornered rebels and civilians will tragically fall right into the Baroque Works hands in just one night! This country will become our utopia! This is the Baroque Works' great, final plan, 'Utopia'. Failure will not be tolerated. The operation will begin tomorrow morning at seven o'clock. Meeting adjourned. Pray for victory."

 **The Next Morning, Yuba**

The Straw Hat Pirates, accompanied by the camel 'Eyelashes', who Nami insisted on keeping for transportation services, were standing on the outskirts of Yuba, preparing to leave.

"I am sorry for acting so disgracefully, Vivi." Toto apologised to the princess.

"No, don't worry," The blue-haired woman shrugged it off, "we're going now, Mr. Toto."

"Yes," Toto then looked towards Luffy, "Luffy, please take this." He then proceeded to hand the rubber pirate a sack of water.

"Wow, water!" Luffy grinned widely as he accepted the offer with no hesitation.

"Water!? You got some!?" Usopp exclaimed.

"Right after you fell asleep digging last night we made it to the water level," Toto explained, "I managed to squeeze out the water and distil it."

"Wow, sounds difficult!" Luffy exclaimed, "Thanks, I'll drink it carefully!"

"Genuine Yuba water, I'm sorry that's all I can give you." The elderly man stated.

"No, no, it's fine." Nami insisted before she snatched the water away from Luffy and gave it to Chopper, as she knew that if the precious water was left in the hands of her straw-hat wearing captain, it would be gone within minutes.

"Hey!" Luffy shouted, looking for support, but everyone agreed with action that Nami had taken.

"Goodbye, Mr. Toto." Vivi hugged the man warmly before she began waving as they walked off.

"Good luck!" Toto smiled, happy that not only was he able to see the daughter of the king whom he trusted with his life, but he was also able to gain an insight into the real dealings within Alabasta. The crew continued their venture, that was, until they had gotten out of eyesight of Yuba, when Luffy flopped down and started lying on the ground.

"Hey! What are you doing!?" Nami yelled from the camel.

"What's wrong, Luffy?" Vivi asked.

"I quit." Luffy stated nonchalantly.

"You quit?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean, Luffy!?" Vivi questioned,

"We don't have time for your stupid games now, Luffy! Now get up!" Nami shouted at the rubber pirate, clearly annoyed at his actions.

"We're going back." The straw-hat wearing captain stated.

"Yeah, we're using the road we took yesterday to go to Katorea and stop the rebellion," Sanji explained, "if one million citizens of this country clash, it's all over! This is for Vivi! C'mon, let's go!"

"Boring." Luffy yawned.

"What did you say!?" The cook yelled angrily.

"Vivi." Luffy directed his attention towards the princess.

"What?" Vivi responded.

"I wanna beat the crap out of Crocodile!" Luffy declared, "If we stop the guys who are rebelling, will we stop Crocidle? We can't do anything, even if we go to this place. We're pirates. You'd be better off without us." The crew was shocked; they had never seen Luffy display this sort of wisdom that would be typical of a captain.

"Sometimes he hits the bullseye without even thinking." Sanji stated with a puff of his cigarette.

"Well…" Vivi began.

"You just don't want anyone to die in this war! The people of your country, or us, or anyone!" Luffy told the princess, "You're talking about a fight against one of the Shichibukai in which over a million people will be in battle and all you want is for no one to die! That's naïve."

"Stop, Luffy! Can't you think of Vivi's feelings!?" Nami shouted as she began approaching the straw-hat wearing pirate, only to be stopped by Sanji.

"Wait, Nami." The cook held out his hand, now understanding the point that Luffy was trying to get across to the princess.

"What's wrong with that!?" Vivi yelled, "What's wrong about not wanting people to die!?"

"People die." Luffy said factually, with an expressionless face. Vivi's response to this was to hit her temporary captain across the face.

"Stop talking like that! Don't you dare say that again! That's what we're trying to stop!" The princess shouted, "You can't blame the rebels or the army for this! Why should anyone die!? This is all Crocodile's fault!"

"Then why are you risking your life!?" Luffy yelled back with a strong punch to the face of the princess.

"That's going too far, Luffy!" Usopp shouted out.

"Dammit, Luffy!" Sanji yelled, his chivalry causing him to feel intense feelings of anger towards his captain. Out of all of the crewmates, Zoro and Naruto were the only ones who stood silently. They knew exactly what their captain was doing, even if it was through some unorthodox methods.

"Even I can tell what this country needs most just by looking at the situation!" Luffy told the princess.

"What!?" Vivi questioned fiercely.

"You thinking risking one life is enough!?" The pirate captain shouted in a condescending tone.

"Then what am I supposed to risk!?" Vivi cried angrily, "There's nothing else I have to-"

"Why don't you try risking our lives, too!?" Luffy suggested intensely, "I thought we were friends!" Vivi gasped, she was yet again astonished by the commitment of the Straw Hat Pirates and the captain, tears began flowing from her eyes like a waterfall, "Look at you. You're crying, even after what Naruto told you. You're the one who wants to kill him the most! Tell me. Tell me where Crocodile is!"

 **Rainbase**

"I would appreciate it if you waited a bit on this 'Plan: Utopia'." From the stairs proceeding to the dining table which the remaining Officer Agents were discussing their plans for the domination of Alabasta, stood the supposedly dead Mr. 3.

"Mr. 3!" Miss All-Sunday exclaimed, "How did you get into the secret underground base!?"

"Mr. 3! Where did you sneak up from!?" Mr. 2 questioned, "I got rid of you, just like I was ordered to-"

"Wait, Mr. 2!" Crocodile ordered.

"Sneak? How rude… I simply followed you all the way from Spider's Café, I hitched a ride on your Banchi," The wax man explained, "Boss, please listen! I cam here because I wanted another chance. Of course, Mr. 2 came to kill me because I failed to complete the orders I was assigned, so I changed my course slightly and went to the 'Agent Meeting Spot', Spider's Café."

"You failed to complete your orders?" The Shichibukai raised an eyebrow, "What are you talking about!?"

"I am referring to the fact that I allowed Vivi and the Straw Hat Pirates to escape." Mr. 2 stated with a calm façade.

"You let them escape!?" Crocodile exploded, "You mean they are still alive!? What did you tell me on the Den Den Mushi, then!? Didn't you say you had disposed of the pirates and Vivi!?"

"Den Den Mushi!? What do you mean?" Mr. 2 asked, "I never used my Den Den Mushi on Little Garden."

"What!?" Crocodile slammed his hooked left hand onto the table, "Damn… now I know why the Unluckies never came back. You killed at least one or two of them, right?"

"W-well, not exactly…" The wax man answered quietly, unable to contain his fear.

"What?" Crocodile asked, absolutely livid.

"B-b-b-b-but there was a mistake in the information! There were actually six pirate escorts! A-and a long-nosed one!" Mr. 2 defended.

"Why you…" Anyone in the room could feel the killing intent that was being expressed through Crocodile's presence.

"Zero! Explain to me what's going on around here! I don't understand!" Bon Clay questioned.

"Miss All-Sunday…" Crocodile gestured to the woman standing next to him, attempting to not let his anger be shown just yet, "go get the pictures…"

"Yes, sir." The mysterious woman nodded, knowing that now was the not the time to be giving her superior any back-chat. Within a few moments, Miss All-Sunday placed the pictures of Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Naruto, Sanji and Vivi on the table in front of Mr. 2.

"I met them!" He cried.

"What!?" Crocodile exclaimed.

"While I was on my way here I met all of them! Along with a long-nosed one!" Mr. 2 then slammed his fist down on the picture of Vivi, "And she's Miss Wednesday!? Princess Vivi!? You mean they were all my enemies!?"

"Yes. They know my identity. If we let them go, they'll interfere with the plan," Crocodile sighed with a puff of his large cigar, "and, Mr. 3… as you said, there was one extra person and animal with them. More than previously reported. If you ignore the pet, that leaves six, not including Vivi, and they're probably all in Alabasta by now. Mr. 2, let's take some pictures using your memory."

"But boss! If you'd just give me another chance I will destroy Vivi and her crew!" Mr. 3 pleaded.

"Silence, you moronic fool!" Before the wax man could continue his plea, Crocodile grabbed him by the throat, "Mr. 3… Mr. 3! Do you know why I gave you the position I did!? Hmm!?"

"Kah…" Mr. 3 suffocated as he was being crushed by his leader's throat.

"In battle you are inferior to Mr. 4! It was because I believed your sneaky, cowardly tricks would eventually fulfil my orders!" Crocodile revealed. It was at this point that the rest of the Officer Agents realised what was really happening to Mr. 3. It was as if the moisture in his very skin was being dried up, "And you disappointed me! Someone who can't do what he needs to when the time comes is worthless!"

"Aghhh!" The wax man cried weakly.

"W-what's happening!?" Mr. 2 questioned.

"He's drying up…" Miss Double-Finger gasped. Suddenly, the Shichibukai dropped his former officer.

"Wa… water… water…" Mr. 3 begged as he caught his breath.

"Drink all the water you like." Crocodile stated cruelly as he pressed a button on the arm of the large chair which he was sitting on. Suddenly, the floor with which the wax man was sitting on collapsed beneath him, causing him to fall through it.

"Ahhhh!" Mr. 3 cried with fear. Crocodile then walked over to the glass window that separated them from a large pool of water, a Bananawani quickly swam towards said glass window.

"Feeding time." The sand man stated ominously.

"Oft!" Mr. 3 cited as he landed at the bottom of the pit. He looked up to see four entrance ways leading towards the pit that he was trapped in, "W-where am I!? Underwater!? It's like a fish tank!" Suddenly, he heard the dripping steps of a wet and hungry Bananawani come through one of the entrances, "A Bananawani…" Above him, the Officer Agents looked around at the table, with their eyes, asking each other what sort of reaction the events that just occurred required.

"That little shithead earned it. Killing him once isn't enough!" Crocodie yelled angrily, before he slammed his fist down at the pictures of the Straw Hat Pirates, "Now all you, burn the images of these people into your mind! There will also be a long-nosed pirate accompanying them! Their aim is to stop the rebellion! If we allow them freedom, they will show up on their own."

"But Zero, if she really is the princess doesn't that mean she could stop the rebellion!?" Bon Clay questioned.

"Maybe, unfortunately I have heard that the rebel leader Kohza and Nefeltari Vivi were childhood friends," Crocodile confirmed the suspicion of the okama, "it's a wave of 700,000 men, it won't be easy to stop. But she could certainly side-track the rebellion. We must not let those two meet! I already have several 'Billions' in place inside the rebellion. I haven't received a letter from them yet, which means no direct action has been taken. We absolutely must avoid all contact between Vivi and the rebels before the plan begins! Miss All-Sunday."

"Yes?" The woman acknowledged the angry Shichibukai.

"Use this opportunity to send a message to the 'Billions' in Nanohana. Use a Den Den Mushi if you must! Once they find them, they must annihilate them!" Crocodile ordered, "Do not let the princess and the pirates into Katorea! Vivi and Kohza must not see each other!"

"Yes, right away." Miss All-Sunday nodded as she proceeded with her superior's orders.

"Now, leave all of you. You'll be late to the party, our utopia lays before our eyes, there cannot be any more trouble from here on, understand!?" Crocodile questioned the Officer Agents.

"Leave it to us, Boss!" Miss Double-Finger claimed.

"We'll do it!" Mr. 2 exclaimed.

"Enjoy yourselves." With that, the sand man grinned confidently as he thought about the plan that laid in front of them.

 **With the Straw Hat Pirates**

"This is the oasis called 'Rainbase', which is where Crocodile is," Vivi, having dried her tears, pointed to the map of Alabasta, "straight to the north of Yuba. It will talk a whole day to walk through the desert."

"Will there be water there?" Chopper asked.

"Yes, it will be safe. It's a gambling town, separate from all the fighting." Vivi explained.

"Oh, gambling!?" Nami exclaimed joyfully.

"Oh no, what are you thinking?" Zoro sighed.

"I guess there are towns like that even in Alabasta." Sanji stated.

" **Gomu Gomu No Way!** " Luffy announced as he held the water given to him by Toto away from the sniper.

"Huh?" Zoro raised an eyebrow.

"Are they still at it?" Naruto questioned.

"All you have to do is give me one sip… he gave us that water to use!" Usopp told his captain.

"No way. Old Mr. Sand-Guy gave us this water after digging all night long! We can't just drink it right away, you moron!" Luffy scolded his crewmate.

"So you really can restrain yourself when you need to." Nami stated.

"Of course I can, how rude! How rude!" The rubber pirate told the navigator.

"All right already, let's just go." Zoro told the crew as he began walking away from them.

"North is this way, fool." Sanji stated as the rest of the crew and the more navigationally-able crew members began walking in the completely opposite direction. While the crew were journeying towards the headquarters of Crocodile, Naruto decided to walk at the back of the pack.

' _Just what are the limits of chakra?_ ' Naruto thought to himself, ' _At first, I thought I could just manipulate my own, but now I know I can sense other people's and perhaps I can even control someone else's chakra. But on top of all that, back at the Barate, Mihawk said that there was another person out there who could use chakra… who is that guy? Is it Whitebeard? That would explain how he knows about the Kyūbi…'_

"Are you alright, Naruto?" Vivi asked, waking the young pirate from his thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm fine." The blond pirate replied quickly.

"Are you sure?" The princess continued her questioning.

"Yes, why do you ask?" Naruto questioned back.

"You seem conflicted," Vivi answered, "not only that, but you haven't been saying much, you've been keeping to yourself a lot." Naruto was surprised, he hadn't realised how much the blue-haired woman had noticed about him.

"There's just a lot on my mind right now, but you don't need to worry." Naruto explained briefly.

"I am worried," Vivi stated, "if there's anything troubling you just talk to me."

"I'll tell you about it when we stop everything going on in this country." The first mate told the princess with a sense of confidence.

"Ahhh… ahhhh…" From the front of the pack of crewmates, Luffy and Usopp were leading the crew, making many groans and moans.

"I thought I told you two to stop doing that!" Nami yelled at the two of them.

"Shut up, you're riding on the camel!" Usopp yelled back.

"Yeah, let us ride too!" Luffy demanded.

"Camel-woman." Usopp stated.

"Nami-camel." The pirate captain snickered.

"Shut up!" The navigator shouted at the two of them.

"You aren't all wiped out today, Chopper." Zoro observed the reindeer.

"Nope. I'm sticking it out today." The doctor nodded as he proceeded through the hot desert.

"Heh…" Sanji grinned at the growing strength of Chopper.

"Luffy…" Vivi began.

"Uh?" The rubber man raised an eyebrow.

"Thank you," The princess thanked, "I never could have made that decision without you."

"Then feed me." Luffy stated without hesitation.

"What?" Vivi questioned.

"Once I whoop Crocodile, you gotta feed me until I explode." Luffy instructed the woman.

"Okay, I promise!" Vivi smiled happily.

 **Alubarna Palace**

"Silence! I told you, it will not happen!" King Cobra told the two head guards who stood in front of them. They were known as Chaka and Pell.

Chaka was a tall, imposing dark-skinned man with medium length black hair and a long broad nose resembling that of a jackal. He wore a long, light-green tunic, revealing his muscular chest, and had two belts around his wast: a striped, pale-red and crimson large one, and over it a purple, thinner one. Around his neck he wore a necklace consisting of big golden beads, and wore a dark-green coat draped on his shoulder like a cape. He carried a massive sword, with a blue hilt and sheath, on his right hip.

Pell was a tall man with a purple line under each eye that ran down the sides of his face, making him resemble a falcon. He wore a long white robe with brown star-like motifs on it and a matching hat. He had a big orange necklace around his neck, and also sport stripped socks under a pair of normal shoes. He carried his sword on his right hip.

"You want to strike back for what they have done to you!? This isn't some child's fight!" Cobra continued.

"But my liege! If we do not do something, the country may cease to be!" Chaka told his king.

"So what!? You want to attack the people without knowing the cause of this unrest first!? That is what will destroy the country! The country is its people!" Nefeltari Cobra declared, "If a shadow has been guiding the kingdom ever since the Dance Powder, then the enemy for us to fight is that!"

"But we have no idea who that 'shadow' could be!" Chaka told the father of Vivi, "If this unknown 'shadow' eats our country away, it will already be too late! Your majesty!"

"You're wasting your time... you don't understand… get out! Now!" Silently and reluctantly, the two head guards left the room of the king to the balcony, where they oversaw all of Alabasta's capital.

"The king will not allow us to attack." Chaka sighed.

"We're being supressed, and we're reaching the limit of our ability to keep the soldiers in line," Pell stated, "If only Igaram were here."

"Don't bring it up, Pell," The jackal-looking man told his colleague, "he would not betray the kingdom! He has some sort of plan. Vivi, as well."

"Then he could at least tell us what he's doing… or is that part of the plan?" Pell wondered.

"Probably." Chaka replied.

"Chaka! Pell!" Running towards the duo was one of the many guards that protected the Royal Family and the Alabastan people, "Carue has returned!"

"What!? Where is he!?" Pell asked.

"He's in the king's bedroom!" The guard informed them. Quickly, the two of them rushed towards the king's bedroom, they were in such a rush that they forgot to even knock the door. Opening the door, they indeed saw Carue gulping down as much water as was supplied to him through the multiple barrels of water that had been provided earlier. Cobra was sitting on the bed with his head in his hands.

"My liege!" Chaka ran up to the king, to which he silently handed them the letter that Carue had been holding. Having read the letter, both Chaka and Pell knew exactly who was behind all the wicked schemes that had been driving their beloved Alabasta into misfortune.

"My liege, this is…" Pell couldn't even comprehend what was written before him.

"Yes, it is definitely Vivi's handwriting!" Cobra claimed.

"How can it be!?" Chaka exclaimed.

"I'm sorry… the shock is a little too strong… he's on the side of the government, I would never have expected Crocodile would attempt to take over this country!" The king stated with a mix of anger and shock.

"Igaram!" Pell cried.

"He gave his life to protect the country. Only he could be so brave!" Chaka exclaimed, "It says that you risked your life, too. Well done, Carue."

"Quack." The spot-billed duck sighed after gulping down all the water that had been on offer.

"Is your left wing injured?" Chaka questioned as he noticed the bandaged wrapped around his wing, "Let me see…"

"Quack!" In protest, Carue smacked the prodding hand of Chaka away.

"W-what's the matter?" The co-head of the Royal Guards asked.

"Quack." Carue stated defiantly, remembering the pledge that he and the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates had made when they marked their arms.

"Chaka," King Cobra alerted the jackal-looking man, "we know our enemy now. Begin preparing a military campaign at once! We must not waste Vivi's efforts and Igaram's death! We will attack Rainbase and Crocodile at once!"

"Please wait, my lord! The distance to Rainbase is too far," Pell told the king, "if he sees us coming, he can simply avoid us."

"Remember! Crocodile is the hero of the people right now! I hate to say it, but… even more than you!" Chaka informed Cobra.

"If you try to oppose Crocodile now, it will only throw oil on the flame of the rebellion! They will use the opportunity of our attack on Rainbase and Alubarna Palace will fall to the rebels!" Pell stated.

"And what if the palace is destroyed by the rebellion!? I told you already, the country is its people!" Cobra reminded the two head of guards, "Even if the army is destroyed, as long as we kill Crocodile, the people will rebuild the country! Look what would happen if we fought the rebels here! The last one laughing would be Crocodile, and only Crocodile!"

"My lord!" The two of them exclaimed, amazed at the king's loyalty to the people.

"Even if we have a million to one chance to stop the rebels, we need to destroy him! Our enemy is Crocodile, one of the Shichibukai! He is no pushover! This is no fight that we can see to the end without making sacrifices!" Cobra told the duo, "Chaka! Call the guards to meet and collect your officers. Pell, you go forward and scout the enemy's location."

' _I think we have underestimated him… what spirit he has!'_ Chaka thought to himself.

"We depart tomorrow morning! Send all troops to Rainbase!" The king ordered in a regal tone.

"Yes, sir!" The two of them nodded before they left the king's bedroom swiftly.

 **Just Outside Rainbase**

Early in the morning, the Straw Hat Pirates, after travelling through the hot, sandy desert, were finally able to see the target of their tiresome journey, Rainbase.

"I see it!" Nami exclaimed.

"That's Rainbase!" Vivi told the crew.

"We made it!?" Usopp cried.

"Yes! Crocodile, your ass is grass!" Luffy rhymed.

"Shut up already." Zoro stated.

"Water!" Usopp and Chopper exclaimed in unison.

"Crocodile…" Vivi mumbled.

"Oh yeah, Usopp, how is it coming along? Did you finish it?" Nami asked the sniper.

"Yeah, I finished it." Usopp answered.

"It?" Sanji raised an eyebrow.

"Look! This is your new weapon!" Out of his bag, Usopp pulled out three segments that, when put together, looked as if it had once been a bo-staff that had been pulled apart, "Climatact!"

"Climatact?" Nami questioned.

"Yeah, at first it looks like your old ones, but these are totally different! The attack changes based on how you put them together." Usopp explained.

"Wow!" Nami grinned at the prospect as she continued questioning the sniper about the usages of the the weapon.

"Hey, don't give Nami any dangerous weapons, Usopp! Nami and Vivi don't need to fight, because I'll protect them!" Sanji gave the two women a thumbs up, "Just call me prince! Hahahaha!"

"Prince." Zoro muttered.

"Shut the hell up, dammit!" Sanji yelled angrily at the swordsman.

"The Baroque Works know we're here." Naruto stated out of nowhere.

"Hm?" Chopper raised an eyebrow.

"Probably," Vivi nodded, "we met Mr. 2, and we know Mr. 3 is here, so I think we should assume they know we're here."

"So what?" Luffy asked.

"They know what we look like. That means we can't do any stupid actions." Naruto stated.

"How come!?" Luffy questioned.

"We have no idea where the Baroque Work's fighters could be hiding. There's no way we can get to Crocodile if we're caught first." The first mate explained to the rubber pirate.

"Assassination is their specialty." Zoro added.

"Okay! Crocodile, your ass is grass!" Luffy repeated.

"Were you listening at all?" Usopp asked.

"But Usopp," Vivi began, "I agree with Luffy! Everything is about to happen now. We don't have time to think."

 **Rainbase**

"I could really get something to eat right now," Naruto said to himself as he walked around the gambling city of Rainbase. Vivi had recommended that the crew replenish on food and water so that they were completely ready before they attempted to take down Crocodile and the Officer Agents, "but what is there to eat?" Something that the first mate had discovered after exploring the city, was that the food here was much different to what he had been accustomed to.

There were many different and exotic foods that were on display in the district he was walking through, however, Naruto was anxious as he had no idea what any of them were, and was afraid that if he ate them it would have negative impacts on his body, which was something that would weigh him down considerably. Even though Naruto knew that it wouldn't really matter whether or not he ate something poisonous as the Kyūbi would make sure nothing got into his system and damage him internally.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of wandering around the city which was being used as the headquarters of Baroque Work, he stumbled across a small chocolate shop.

"It's not the healthiest option, but still, at least it won't do anything 'terrible' to me." Naruto mumbled as he entered the colourful shop. He looked around and immediately was hit by the bright yellow that was splashed across all walls and the ceiling, with the only juxtaposition coming from the white tiles on the floor.

"Hello there! What would like today?" The blond pirate turned around to see one of the Baroque Works agents whom he thought for sure was dead, Miss Valentine.

"Oh, it's you." Naruto stated, not at all concerned or frightened by the figure of the dangerous woman.

"A-a-a-ahh! I-I-It's you!" The woman stuttered in fear as she slowly began backing away from the first mate.

"Yeah, it is." Naruto nodded.

"W-what'd you want!?" Miss Valentine asked in a way that seemed like a demand, "Are you here to rob my store! Or are you here to kill me! If you are then go ahead and try! I'm a lot stronger than when we last met!"

"All I want is some food." The pirate explained, giving a much less exciting answer than what Miss Valentine was suggesting.

"Food?" The woman raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, isn't this a chocolate shop?" Naruto questioned.

"Oh, yeah!" Miss Valentine snapped back into her chocolatier mode, but was still cautious of the young pirate, "What would you like?"

"Just get me the cheapest thing you have." Naruto requested simply. Miss Valentine nodded quickly and went into the back room and, within what felt like seconds, returned with a platter full of chocolate in many forms.

"Here you go!" The woman handed him the chocolate.

"I asked for the cheapest you've got." Naruto reminded.

"I know." Miss Valentine nodded.

"Then why'd you bring this?" The first mate asked.

"Because this is the cheapest we have." Miss Valentine explained.

"How much is it?" The pirate questioned.

"10,000 beli." The woman answered.

"10,000 beli!? Are you kidding me!?" Naruto exploded, "How can this possibly be the cheapest thing on the menu!"

"Kyahaha, did you think this was some cheap shop!?" Miss Valentine grinned, "This is one of the most luxurious shops in all of Rainbase, I'll have you know, I have some of the most esteemed members of society attending this establishment regularly."

"Shit," Naruto muttered, knowing that he didn't have enough money to afford the chocolate, "how about this, if you don't let me have this for free, then I'll kill you," This silenced the woman, "after all, Baroque Works are my enemy."

"B-B-B-Baroque Works? I'm not longer a part of that organisation! I-I-I promise you!" Miss Valentine told the pirate.

"What'd you mean?" Naruto questioned.

"That organisation doesn't tolerate failure! If I returned to them after failing to dispatch any of you I'll be killed on the spot!" The former Baroque Works officer stated, "Even I know that I'm nothing compared to those guys!"

"Hmm… so you're no longer a member of Baroque Works… but still, you must know things about them, some confidential information?" Naruto suggested.

"Nothing more than what you already know," The woman sighed, "Oh, wait, here's something you might not know, in fact, I don't think that the other Officer Agents know about this."

"What is it?" Naruto asked.

"A k-kid." Miss Valentine replied.

"What do you mean?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"I… I saw it, well some of it." Miss Valentine stated, shivers running down her spine.

"What'd it look like?" Naruto questioned.

"All I can remember was its eyes… this was right before we had been shipped off to Whiskey Point… I could remember walking down the halls of the ships that I had been in charge of guarding from Kyuka Island to Alabasta…" The woman started to visibly shake with fear, "one of the very few instructions I had been given from the boss was to make sure the seastone door at the end of the main hallway of the ship was closed at all times …"

"Just spit it out." Naruto ordered.

"At night, I w-was walking down that hall… and I saw that door open…" Miss Valentine continued, "I knew that I had to shut it, the boss had ordered me to, but the closer I got to it, the more the atmosphere changed. It felt like I was being choked, I b-began sweating profusely…eventually I reached the door and looked into the room inside."

"What'd you see?" The first mate asked.

"There w-was this kid… lying on the floor, clutching his head in pain… I couldn't see his face because he was turned away from me, b-but I could see him shaking… he looked as though he was in pain," The chocolatier recounted, "I approached him, I didn't know that there had been a kid on the ship, I wanted to know if he was okay, not because I cared, but because if we were attacked we needed everyone to be as healthy as possible… but that's when it happened… that… thing… turned around and looked me dead in the eye. I could see the lifeless pale eyes looking at me, it was as if it was staring straight into my soul. This only lasted for less than a second before it gave a monstrous roar and it all went black… I don't remember what happened from there."

"What happened when you regained consciousness?" Naruto asked, continuing his questioning.

"I remember waking up the next morning to find that the door was shut so tight that it was impossible to open, I asked the other people on the ship about whether they had heard what had happened last night, they all asked what I was talking about," Miss Valentine told the pirate, "I thought that maybe it was just grunts being grunts and not understanding the situation, so when we reached Alabasta, I questioned Mr. 5 about whether or not he knew about a young kid with pale blue eyes that worked for Baroque Works, he just stared at me as if I was crazy."

"Could that kid be the secret weapon that Vivi was talking about?" Naruto mumbled quietly to himself. Before they could continue with their discussion, they began hearing shouts and yells coming from outside.

"Make sure you catch them this time!" From outside, the two of them could see many marines with their flintlocks running as fast as they could through the streets.

"What's going on?" Miss Valentine asked.

"Luffy probably got found out… again…" Naruto sighed, "thanks for the information!" The blond pirate then rushed out of the store faster than Miss Valentine could blink.

"W-wait! You need to pay me!" The woman shouted into nothingness. Naruto, running along the rooftops, eventually caught up with what the marines were chasing, the Straw Hat Pirates. Grinning, the first mate jumped down from the rooftops and joined the rest of his crewmates in their escape from the marines.

"What happened?" Naruto asked, already knowing the answer.

"Luffy." Zoro answered simply.

"This isn't good! Running around like this will help the Baroque Works spot us!" Sanji informed his crewmates.

"I think it's too late." Zoro stated as he looked upon two goons that had joined the chase with the marines.

"Let's go to where Crocodile is, Vivi!" Luffy yelled to the princess.

"But where's Chopper?" Nami asked.

"He'll be fine! Just tell us where Crocodile is!" Luffy insisted.

"Over there!" Vivi pointed out to the largest building in all of Rainbase, Rain Dinners, the casino iconic for it's statue of a golden crocodile on top of it, "Can you see the building with the crocodile on top!? That's the casino that Crocodile owns, Rain Dinners!"

"We should scatter." Sanji suggested.

"Yeah." Zoro agreed, for once, with what the cook said.

"We'll meet back up at Croc's house!" Luffy ordered as the crew split up, confusing the marines behind them.

"They split up! Don't let them get away!" The marines yelled.

"Come and get me, Smokey!" Naruto heard the taunts of Luffy.

"Smoker's here?" Naruto raised an eyebrow, "He's bloody persistent."

"Don't think you can run away forever!" Smoker yelled angrily as he burst into smoke and directed himself towards Luffy, encasing himself around the rubber pirate, " **White Vine!** "

"Urgh!" Luffy cried out, " **Gomu Gomu no Fusen!** " Luffy, in his largened state, blew away the smoke man, however, this caused him to fall flat on his face into the ground.

"Damn…" Smoker cursed. Nami and Usopp had decided to run along with Sanji when they had been instructed to scatter.

"Usopp!" Sanji shouted at the sniper.

"Huh!?" Usopp raised an eyebrow.

"Take care of Nami!" The cook instructed.

"What?" Nami questioned.

"I'll stop these guys." Sanji stated, referring to the group of marines who were tasked with capturing them.

"O-okay, good luck!" Usopp wished the cook luck as he ran off.

"Sanji!" Nami exclaimed as she followed the sniper towards Rain Dinners.

"Without that smoking fool they're nothing!" Sanji stated calmly as he puffed on his cigarette, "Hehe… rest in peace!" Away from him, Zoro had taken up a similar role as he began taking down the marines who surrounded him.

"He wasn't good enough. Try again!" Zoro taunted the marines.

"Roronoa Zoro!" The swordsman turned to see the women he rued most, Tashigi.

"Ahh! Not her!" Zoro muttered.

"So, we meet again!" The woman exclaimed.

"Look, I don't want to fight you! Our match is over!" Zoro insisted.

"No it is not! We have not yet truly crossed swords!" Tashigi told the pirate.

"Stop looking like that!" Zoro demanded.

"W-what!? Tashigi gasped, "Why, you horrible man! You still insist on humiliating me!"

"Crap! I can't fight her!" Zoro shouted as he began running away from the swordswoman.

"Hey! Wait!" The woman demanded.

"Gyaahh!" The screams of both Usopp and Nami could be heard throughout the city as they were fleeing two dangerous-looking Baroque Works agents.

"Kill them!" The two of them shouted.

"Go away, Baroque Works!" Usopp yelled as he kicked some barrels of wine in their directions.

"Hahaha! What a stupid atta-Uwahhh!" Before the two officers could act, they were being rolled over by surprisingly heavy barrels.

"Whoa… it worked!" Usopp exclaimed, surprised at himself.

"Wow! Good job, Usopp!" Nami encouraged.

"Look, there's the entrance to Rain Dinners!" Usopp announced as the two of them reached the casino.

"It's built in the middle of a lake!" Nami noticed.

"No one else is here yet!?" Usopp questioned.

"Take aim and fire!" To their left they saw three Baroque Works agents lined up with their flintlocks aimed in their direction, "Those are the first two!"

"Enemies!?" The duo of Nami and Usopp cried in fear. They braced for impact, but opened their eyes when that impact never came. They saw all three agents knocked out on the floor with Naruto standing behind them.

"Naruto!" Nami exclaimed, thankful that he was with her.

"C'mon, we need to hurry!" Naruto told his crewmates.

"Ahhhh!" Suddenly, they saw their captain running towards them.

"Wait, damn you!" Just behind him, Smoker was hot on his tail.

"Smokey's chasing me!" The rubber pirate announced, "Let's go, everybody! Run inside! Run!" Following their captain's lead, Naruto, Nami, Usopp and Zoro, who was just behind them, burst into the casino, "Just you wait! Crocodile!"

There were many different sorts of faces within the luxurious casino. Some filled with happiness and accomplishment as the rare gifts of gambling had decided to grace themselves upon them, while most were filled with anxiety and depression as they had just wasted away all their money, which was especially crucial during the drought. But something that they all had in common was the confusion that was brought upon them by the strangers who had burst through the entrance.

"Crocodile! Get your ass out here!" Luffy yelled at the top of his lungs, "Come on!"

"How is that going to make him show up!?" Nami questioned.

"He's the hero of this country, saying that will make the customers here your enemies as well." Naruto stated.

"Fine! So… what do we do!?" Luffy asked the crew.

"Hey, wait a minute! Without Vivi, we don't know who Crocodile is!" Usopp pointed out.

"Where is Vivi, anways?" Nami pondered out loud.

"Vivi! Crocodile!" The trio of Usopp, Luffy and Nami exclaimed with the hope of a response.

"Hey." They turned around, hoping to see Vivi, but instead, saw the green-haired swordsman.

"Oh." They replied.

"What'd you mean 'oh'!?" Zoro asked angrily.

"I've got you now, Straw-Hat!" The shouts of Smoker were abundant as he exploded through the entrance doors.

"No, sir, governments officials are not allowed inside the casino!" The two security guards attempted to explain to the marine captain.

"This place is on a lake! You can't get away!" Smoke shouted to the rubber pirate.

"Damn." Luffy muttered under his breath as he and his crewmates began running around the casino like chickens with their heads cut off.

"Excuse us, gentlemen!" Suddenly, three large men, who they assumed were security guards, stepped in front of them, "We'd like for your to step outside for a min-"

"Piss off!" Naruto yelled as he kicked the central guard in his chest, in the process breaking most of his ribs, before punching the other two in the jaws and sending them soaring into the opposite walls of the establishment.

"Hey, look at that!" Usopp pointed in front of them. A red carpet laid out in front of them leading up to a door with the letters 'V.I.P' above them, with several suit-wearing people welcoming them inside.

"Right in this way, please!" They enticed them, "This is the VIP room!"

"Is he saying 'bring it on'?" Nami wondered.

"A clever guy!" Zoro grinned.

"C'mon! Let's go!" Luffy shouted, adrenaline coursing through his body.

"This is leading us straight to our deaths!" Usopp cried.

"It's a trap." Naruto sighed, but understood that his statement wouldn't change the direction that his captain had already laid out for them.

"What's V.I.P mean!?" The rubber pirate questioned. As they ran through the door, they immediately had a decision to make. There were two pathways to take, with two arrows directing them. The arrow on the left stated 'V.I.P' and the arrow on the right stated 'Pirates', "Look the path splits! The V.I.P room is to the left!"

"No wait." Zoro insisted.

"But we're pirates! This way!" Before the swordsman could continue he was forced to follow his captain, not long after they chose to run the right path, they met a dead end.

"A dead end?" Usopp questioned. Suddenly, they could feel the floors beneath them tremble, before it collapsed entirely.

"Ahh! The floor collapsed! A pit!" Luffy cried. Fortunately for the Straw Hat Pirates, along with Smoker, the fall wasn't a long one, and they were back on their feet within a few seconds. However, they quickly noticed that in front of them were prison bars made out of seastone. They were in a prison cell. Usopp and Luffy stood in the middle of the cell, "A fiendishly clever trap."

"Indeed it was." The sniper nodded.

"That's exactly what he wanted us to do!" Nami shouted at the two, "How could you be so stupid!?"

"Besides, I can't feel any power…" Luffy moaned to himself as he grabbed the bars in front of him.

"What, you hungry or something?" Usopp raised an eyebrow. Unbeknownst to the pirate captain, Smoker gripped his jitte tightly and pulled back behind his shoulder.

"Luffy!" Zoro yelled out to the rubber man.

"Huh?" Luffy turned around, but it was too late for him to avoid a strong swipe from the marine captain to the left side of his torso, "Gwah!"

"Gyahh! Luffy!" Usopp cried. Triumphantly, Smoker placed the tip of his jitte against the belly of the rubber pirate.

"Y-you wanna fight!?" Usopp yelled, unconvincingly, "I… helped… stop an exploding human!"

"What the? I can barely move! Like I fell in water or something…" Luffy groaned.

"Yeah, that's right..." Smoker grinned.

"W-what the hell did you do to Luffy!?" The crew demanded.

"The end of this jitte is made of something called 'seastone'. A mysterious stone that only exists in a certain sea. All the marine headquarters' prisons are made of the stuff, it keeps criminals with an Akuma no Mi ability from getting away," Smoker explained, "this metal is still a mystery to us, but what we do know is that it emits the same kind of energy the sea does. Just think of it as a solidified form of the sea."

"So that's what's making Luffy weak!" Usopp realised.

"Then this cage is made of the same." Nami concluded.

"If it wasn't, I'd be long gone," Smoker told the crew, "after destroying the whole lot of you, of course."

"I have a question," Naruto chimed in, "why did you become a marine?" The crew were confused at how the first mate had changed the topic of discussion.

"That's a peculiar question," The marine captain stated, "but I'm not going to answer."

"If you don't, I'll kill you." Naruto stated, with no sense of doubt or uncertainty in his eyes.

"Hahaha!" For the first time, Smoker had openly laughed in front of the pirates, causing the grip on his jitte to lessen and cause Luffy, even without his Akuma no Mi power, to push himself from the clutches of the marine captain, "I guess I might as well answer your question, it's not going to harm me in any way. I became a marine because I wanted to help the weak and protect them against the malicious people in this world."

"I doubt it." Naruto mumbled.

"Pardon?" Smoker raised an eyebrow.

"That's what all the other marines say, and I doubt you'd say that as well, and if that truly is your reason, then I'm disappointed." The young pirate told the smoke man.

"How so?" The marine captain asked.

"Because it's stupid." Naruto explained simply.

"Care to explain?" Smoker questioned.

"Well, it's stupid for someone like you." Naruto explained further.

"Why would it be stupid for someone like me?" Smoke asked once more, continuing their dialogue.

"Because your not protecting the weak against the malicious people in this world," Naruto stated, "all you've done since Loguetown is chase us around, without a glimmer of hope of catching us."

"What'd you mean I'm not helping the weak?" Smoker questioned angrily, angry at the fact that he had been forced to continually ask questions to a pirate not even half his age, also angry at how he had stated that he didn't have a 'glimmer of hope'.

"What have we done wrong?" Naruto asked.

"I don't need your sarcasm!" Smoker shouted.

"And I don't need your idiocy, it was a serious question, what have we done wrong?" Naruto repeated.

"Being pirates is a problem in itself!" The marine replied with a very marine-like answer.

"Stop dodging the question and answer me! What have we done wrong!?" Naruto demanded, his aggression increasing, "Or are you gonna continue with that 'being a pirate is a problem' philosophy, because if you are, you're an even bigger idiot that I thought. Or maybe it's because you're afraid to answer, because you know the truth!"

"The truth?" Zoro raised an eyebrow. Smoker remained silent.

"Since the beginning of our journey we've rescued a child that had been kidnapped by pirate crew, freed a man who had been put up for execution by a corrupt marine system, freed a whole town from a corrupt marine system, freed a town from a dangerous pirate group, prevented an attack on a peaceful town without them even knowing, defeated Don Krieg and his crew, freed a town from a decade long enslavement to a band of Fishmen and yet another corrupt marine system, prevented a rare marine animal from potentially ending it's own life, took out an entire town of bounty hunters and freed a nation from a corrupt king," Naruto listed, "and we did this all without the help of the so-called 'good guys'! If I said anything that sounds malicious, please tell me."

"Wow…" Usopp stated in awe, Naruto had made Smoker seem like a fool. The marine captain remained silent.

"And did you notice a common theme just then?" Naruto asked, "There were a lot of 'corrupt' organisations, and the marines were no exception, in fact you people are probably the most corrupt organisation in the world," The first mate waited for a response from the resident marine, only to be met with silence, "you give so much authority and power to low-ranking officers it's disgusting, someone could run a town like a dictator and the marines would do nothing! And then you cover up all of your wrongdoings and injustices under the guise of 'Absolute Justice'!"

"Geeze…" For Zoro, this was the first time that he had seen Naruto genuinely livid. Sure, he had seen him angry and annoyed before, but this took it to a whole new level.

"In fact, I'm sure that you know that if you were actually trying to protect the weak from the malicious you wouldn't even be wearing that uniform to begin with!" Naruto shouted so loudly that it bordered on a scream.

"How intelligent." From outside the bars, Crocodile sat on a large chair like a king in his throne. The crew had become so indulged in the verbal battle between Smoker and Naruto that they failed to realise the presence of the Shichibukai.

"Crocodile…" Smoker muttered angrily, somewhat happy that he had been allowed to exit the venomous conversation he had with the young blond pirate, but at the same time, extremely irritated with the mere presence of the sand-man Crocodile.

"Ohh… you really are a stray hound, Smoker. You never thought of me as your ally from the start, but then again, I shouldn't really give you too much credit as you just got exposed by a child, but still. Oh, that's right. I was going to have you die in an 'accident'. I reported that you've been fighting the 'Straw Hat Pirates' several times. Hahaha!" Crocodile laughed in his deep voice, "I don't know why you came here, but it was obviously of your own accord. The government believe me. They wouldn't send marines here normally."

"So that's one of the Shichibukai…" Zoro mumbled as he took in all the features of the dangerous man who stood before him.

"So you are Crocodile, huh!?" Luffy muttered, "Hey! You!" Luffy gripped the bars tightly, "Fight me…" Slowly he fell back to the floor.

"Don't touch the cage!" Usopp reminded.

"You did well to come this far, Straw-Hat, I never thought I'd actually meet you. Don't worry, I'll be killing you very soon," the Shichibukai stated ominously, "but the guest of honour isn't here yet. I've just sent my partner to go pick her up."

 **With Vivi**

Surrounding Vivi, were many unconscious bodies of Baroque Works agents who had attempted to attack her, however, despite the very many numbers of unconscious agents, the amount of awake and aware agents outweighed the downed.

"You gave us quiet a bit of trouble, princess," The Baroque Works agent taunted the blue-haired woman. She laid on the ground, bruises all across her body and blood dripping from her face, "no wonder you were a frontier agent. But too bad! Hahaha!"

' _I can't die here! I have to get to Rain Dinners!'_ Vivi thought to herself. Suddenly, as if her wish had been granted, the man standing before her and many of the surrounding men, gripped their chest with shock as bullets began raining down on them.

"Gya!" She could hear the screams of the Baroque Works agents. The agents, along with Vivi all looked towards the sky to see a man-sized falcon, clothed in the outfit of the head guard of Alabasta, with two gatling guns attached to each wing, flying towards them. This sent the agents into hysteria.

"What the!? A bird!?"

"Where did that bird get those gatling guns!?"

"It's huge!"

"Crap! Shoot it!"

"Ahh!"

"Damn the princess!" Within seconds, the falcon man had rescued the princess and placed her on the roof of one of the closest buildings before he transformed into one of the head guards of Alabasta, Pell.

"Nice to see you again, princess." Pell greeted Vivi.

"Pell!" Vivi smiled warmly.

"Please wait here a moment!" The falcon-man requested as he once again transformed into his falcon form.

"Pell!? Was that 'Pell The Falcon'!?" The Baroque Works agents began murmuring in fear below, "The strongest warrior in all of Alabasta!"

"The 'Tori Tori no Mi, Model: Falcon'," Pell spoke of his ability, "one of the only five types of 'flying powers' ever discovered." Without any sort of notice, Pell seemingly disappeared from sight.

"I can't see him! Shoot him! Shoot him dead!" The agents yelled out in panic as they began to shoot randomly without a target.

" **Tobizume!** " All of a sudden, all the agents below dropped to the ground, moaning and groaning in pain as they clutched their various wounds.

"You saved me!" Vivi exclaimed, "Now, we must hurry to where everyone else is!"

"Yes. Exactly what I was thinking." Suddenly, from behind her, Vivi heard the captivating yet haunting voice of Miss All-Sunday.

"Miss All-Sunday!" Vivi exclaimed.

"Vice… president!" The downed and nearly unconscious agents below mumbled.

"Who?" Pell raised an eyebrow.

"How magnificent, the first time I've ever seen a human who could fly. But, I wonder, are you stronger than me?" Miss All-Sunday grinned.

"Vivi, are these the people you were talking about? The ones who are threatening to destroy our country!?" Pell asked with great anger.

"Now I can't use them anymore… my precious employees," Miss All-Sunday shook her head, "if you don't mind, I'd like to take the princess to our mansion and introduce her to my friends. What do you think?"

"Cut the crap already." Pell stared down the only standing Baroque Works Officer.

"Stop screwing around!" Suddenly, Vivi flung her fist at the mysterious woman, only for her wrist to be held with a vice grip-like hand.

"Oh my, princesses shouldn't be so un-ladylike." Miss All-Sunday smirked.

"How dare you do that to Igaram!" Vivi yelled in anger.

"Igaram?" Miss All-Sunday raised an eyebrow, "Oh, Mr. 8."

"You were the one that did it!" Pell shouted from below.

"What are so angry about? How is that different from what you just did to my employees?" Lifting the princess up, Miss All-Sunday raised her arm.

"Ah…" Vivi struggled to move.

"What a joke!" From the perspective of the Royal Guard, it had seemed as though Miss All-Sunday had just struck her arm straight through the torso of the princess.

"Argh!" Vivi spat out some blood.

"Vivi!" Pell screamed, "Damn you!" Turning into his falcon form, he shot at the woman.

"Ahahaha!" Miss All-Sunday laughed.

"I'll turn you into Alabastan sand!" Pell warned.

" **Tres Fleur.** " The woman stated ominously as three arms spurted from Pell's falcon chest.

"What?" Pell questioned. Forcefully, two of the arms gripped the man's wings together, with the third grabbing the sword, causing Pell to fall back down to the ground as if he had been shot.

"Pell!" Suddenly, Vivi shot up.

"Vivi!" Pell gasped, "Are you unharmed!?"

"Hehe… did it look like I killed her?" The Officer Agent smiled.

"What the hell did you do!?" Pell demanded.

"You don't need to get angry. I'm just having a little fun." Miss All-Sunday smirked as she sprouted several hands around the rooftop.

"You have that power!?" Pell gasped.

"Yes… I ate the Hana Hana no Mi. I can make various parts of my body grow out, like flowers. That is my power," She explained, "as long as my body is willing to grow anywhere I will never let you escape from me."

"Escape!? Ridiculous! I will avenge Igaram right here!" Pell claimed.

"Really? I'm sorry then," Miss All-Sunday stretched her neck, "I'd love to stay here and play with you some more but I just don't have the time."

"Don't worry, you won't need any!" Pell shouted as he gripped his sword tightly and rushed towards the woman.

"I don't think you understand yet," Miss All-Sunday smirked, " **Seis Fleur.** " Six arms then appeared from Pell. Two of them holding his arms, two holding his feet and two holding his neck.

"Guh!" Pell gasped.

"Power, speed. They mean nothing to me," Miss All-Sunday said as the two hands on Pell's feet pushed him backwards, with two others holding his back up and the other pair holding his upper body. Violently, the pairs holding the upper and lower parts of his body pulled down, in the process breaking Pell's back, " **Clutch,** " The Royal Guard's limp body dropped, "so much for the 'Strongest Warrior in the Kingdom'."

"Pell!" Vivi screamed with tears running down her eyes, "No!"

"Now, shall we go?" Miss All-Sunday asked rhetorically.

"This can't be happening!" Vivi gasped.

"The boss is waiting for you, along with your friends at Rain Dinners… in a cage." The Officer Agent grinned.

 **Rain Dinners**

"Sanji impression," Luffy announced as he mimed smoking a cigarette, "Hey, did you eat all the meat!?"

"Be serious prisoners!" Nami shouted as she hit both the sniper and the captain, "How can you be like that in this serious situation!?"

"Jeez, we can't get out. It's not like we have anything better to do." Usopp sighed.

"It's serious because we can't get out! We might be killed like this!" Nami told the duo. Her ears perked when she heard the snoring of Zoro, "And why are you sleeping!?"

"What is it morning?" The swordsman yawned.

"It's been morning for quite some time!" The navigator yelled.

"You're quite a feisty young girl." Crocodile noted as he drank some wine as he sat in his throne outside the cage.

"You're quite a cowardly man." Naruto replied for the navigator.

"Haha… from what I've seen, I didn't expect to hear that from you. I thought you were the more intelligent type." The Shichibukai stated.

"And I thought the Shichibukai were meant to be feared. Looks like we were both wrong." Naruto taunted without even batting an eye.

"Oh? Are you not afraid of me? How honourable." Crocodile stated.

"I'm not afraid of you, because you have no power," The first mate told the Shichibukai, "and you know this. You had to side with the marines in order for you to achieve your goals. That shows that you aren't someone that's particularly resilient or someone that the marines should fear."

"So by me becoming a Shichibukai, that makes me not powerful?" Crocodile raised an eyebrow, "I fail to see where your coming from."

"Think about it like this," Naruto began, "the truly powerful pirates don't accept offers to become a Shichibukai because they know they don't need the marines. They know that they're above the level where they have to be told what to do. Not only that, but the marines know this as well. Imagine the chaos that would occur if they started hiring pirates stronger than them to do their job."

"How intriguing," Crocodile mumbled, "I can see where you're coming from now, see what happens when you explain things more clearly?"

' _Fuck this guy._ ' Naruto thought to himself. Unlike Smoker (who had remained silent since his confrontation with the blond pirate), Crocodile had kept his cool under verbal abuse.

"Crocodile!" From the top of the staircase to a doorway which lead to the outside, stood Vivi with Miss All-Sunday behind her.

"Vivi!" Luffy cried out.

"Vivi!?" Usopp exclaimed.

"Well hello. Welcome, Vivi, Princess of Alabsta," Crocodile greeted her as if she was his esteemed guest, "no, Miss Wednesday. You have done an admirable job of avoiding my assassins on the way here."

"Of course I'd come! I'd come from anywhere as long as it means I can watch you die! Crocodile!" Vivi declared.

"It's your worthless country that's going to die Miss Wednesday." Crocodile smirked.

"If you weren't here, Alabasta would be in peace!" Vivi shouted as she began spinning her pendulums and rushed down the stairs.

"Wait, Vivi! Open this door! Let us out!" Luffy shouted.

"Vivi!" Nami cried.

" **Kujakki String Slasher!** " Vivi jumped onto the long table that Crocodile was eating on and whipped her sharp pendulum through his throat, in the process, beheading the Shichibukai.

"Whuh!?" The Straw Hat Pirates gasped.

"Nope…" Smoker mumbled. Coming from Crocodile's slowly dissipating body came sand, not blood.

"Are you satisfied? Miss Wednesday?" The princess began to feel the dry, large hands around her mouth, "If you live in this country then you should know about my Suna Suna no Mi ability. Shall I turn you into a mummy?"

"S-sand-man!" Usopp cried.

"Hey, let go of Vivi, dammit! I'll kill you!" Luffy demanded from the cell. Crocodile released his grip on the princess, causing her to drop in her chair.

"Sit… and stop glaring at me," Crocodile ordered, "it's just about time for the party to being. Am I wrong, Miss All-Sunday?"

"You are correct…" Miss All-Sunday nodded, "it's past seven."

"Seven o'clock…" A chill ran down the spine of everyone present in the room, including Miss All-Sunday and Crocodile, as a cold, lifeless, raspy voice spoke.

"Fuck…" Crocodile muttered under his breath.

"What's happening at seven o'clock?" From the top of the staircase stood a young teenage, roughly around fifteen years of age. He had fair skin, green eyes with no distinctive pupils, and short red hair. He had tanuki-like black rings around his eyes and the kanji for 'love' tattooed onto the left side of his forehead. The boy wore a block body suit with an open neck with t-shirt-like sleeves, and almost full-length leggings. He wore a white cloth over his right shoulder and the left side of his hips. He had a wide leather band from his left shoulder to his right hip which he carried a sand gourd. He had specks of blood across his face.

"Nothing important." Crocodile lied.

"Don't lie to me," The red-haired boy began to walk down the staircase, enabling the Straw Hat Pirates, along with Smoker, to get a better look at him, "if it wasn't important then the mole-woman would've told me."

"Mole-woman? You met Miss Merry Christmas?" Crocodile questioned.

"Whatever her name is, she's dead." The gourd-carrying boy stated emotionless.

"Hey! You!" Luffy shouted out from the cell, "I dunno who you are! But you better let us out of this cell or else!"

"Luffy, be quiet." Naruto told his captain, understanding the significance of the boy, roughly around his own age, standing in front of him.

"Why?" The rubber pirate questioned.

"Because he's like me." Naruto answered. This immediately quietened the captain, while at the same time, confusing the other people in the cell.

"Nico," The boy turned to Miss All-Sunday, citing a gasp from her, "what's going on. Don't lie to me. You know what'll happen if you do."

"Utopia." Miss All-Sunday answered with sweat bullets rolling down her forehead.

"Utopia… utopia… utopia…" The boy repeated to himself.

' _What does this kid want… the aura he gives off is dangerous… I need to be careful…_ ' Naruto thought silently.

"Why don't you help us? Huh? Gaara?" Crocodile asked in a way that made it look as if he was begging.

"Why should I help you people?" The boy, identified as Gaara, replied, "I don't care about any of you. I'm leaving." The red-haired boy turned and began walking away, without any resistance from Crocodile and Miss All-Sunday. As he was walking he analysed everyone in the cell.

"S-s-scary..." Usopp shivered. The pale eyes of Gaara glanced upon everyone, and then rested upon Naruto. The gourd-carrying boy stood still before he approached the young blond pirate before the only thing that was separating them was the bars.

"Ah…aha…ahaha…" Gaara's hands began to shake, "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The laughter physically shook everyone in the presence of the devilish child, everyone despite Naruto, "I'LL KILL YOU!"

"Go ahead," Naruto spread his arms, "I'm open." Gaara grinned as he held out his right arm with an open palm. Slowly sand began to seep from his gourd and began to form a several small spheres which hovered above the palm of the red-haired boy's hand.

" **Sand Bullets!** " With great speed and force, these small spheres of sand were fired at Naruto, in the process breaking many of the bars that were preventing the Straw Hat Pirates from escaping. However, it also caused Naruto to be struck in the gut with many sand-like bullets which pierced his chest.

"Gah!" Naruto coughed and fell back.

"Run!" Luffy demanded as he burst out of the cell.

"But what about Naruto!?" Zoro questioned.

"Trust him!" The captain answered as he and the rest of his crew began to rush to the staircase.

"Where'd you think you're going!?" Crocodile questioned as he sent a large wave of sand towards the crew.

" **White Blow!** " Smoker sent out a blast of dense smoke which collided with Crocodile's sand, blocking its path.

"Smoker!?" Crocodile exclaimed, "Why're you helping them!?"

"I'm not helping them! I'm fighting you!" The Marine Captain yelled as he shot another cloud of smoke towards the downed Naruto and Vivi, " **White Out!** " The smoke encapsulated the pirate and the princess in two separate blobs.

"GET BACK!" Gaara screamed in an insane manner as he shot more sand bullets at Naruto, breaking him away from the smoke.

"Straw-Hat!" Smoker called out to the captain as he threw the body of Vivi over to the rubber pirate.

"Ah!" Vivi cried.

"Thanks!" Luffy yelled back as he caught the princess.

" **Sand Bullets!** " Gaara fired denser sand bullets at the first mate, only for him to dodge them just before they struck him. Naruto jumped to avoid the last sand bullet and, while in the air, threw several kunais at the red-haired boy, only for them to be swiped away by the sand from the gourd.

"Shit!" Naruto cursed as he sped up and attempted to rush to the top of the staircase where the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates had reached earlier. Just before the blond pirate reached the exit, he felt sand wrap around his left ankle.

" **Sand Binding Coffin!** " The sand then began to thicken, before it eventually crushed Naruto's left ankle entirely.

"Aghh!" Naruto cried out in pain.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" The screams of the insane boy flooded the room.

"Dammit!" Smoker cursed as he turned back from the exit to pick up Naruto, " **White Launcher!** " The marine captain's lower body morphed into smoke and launched himself through the exit and into the guise that the headquarters of Crocodile went by, the casino. He looked down to see the other Straw Hat Pirates escaping the gambling hotspot.

"AHHHH!" The insane cries from Gaara were now audible from the upper levels of Rain Dinners.

Baroque Works' Plan Utopia starts now. And a very long day beckons.


End file.
